Campylobacter Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Campylobacter, including details on food poisoning, infection, symptoms, treatment.

Insect infection model for Campylobacter jejuni reveals that O-methyl phosphoramidate has insecticidal activity.

Champion OL, Karlyshev AV, Senior NJ, Woodward M, La Ragione R, Howard SL, Wren BW, Titball RW

School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, United Kingdom.

Galleria mellonella (wax moth) larvae have elsewhere been shown to be susceptible to pathogens such as Francisella tularensis, Burkholderia mallei, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We report that the larvae are rapidly killed by Campylobacter jejuni at 37C. Three strains of C. jejuni tested, 11168H (human diarrheal isolate), G1 (human Guillain-Barré syndrome isolate), and 81-176 (human diarrheal isolate), were equally effective at killing G. mellonella larvae. A panel of defined mutants of C. jejuni 11168H, in known or putative virulence genes, showed different degrees of attenuation in G. mellonella larvae. A mutant lacking the O-methyl phosphoramidate (MeOPN) capsule side group was attenuated, clearly demonstrating that MeOPN has a role in virulence. This new model of C. jejuni infection should facilitate the identification of novel virulence genes.

Published 22 February 2010 in J Infect Dis, 201(5): 776-82.
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Articles on Campylobacter published 12 February 2010:

Species-specific identification and differentiation of Arcobacter, Helicobacter and Campylobacter by full-spectral matrix-associated laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry analysis.   J Med Microbiol, 59: 295-301.

Rapid and reliable identification of Arcobacter and Helicobacter species, and their distinction from phenotypically similar Campylobacter species, has become increasingly important, since many of them are now recognized as human and/or animal pathogens. Matrix-associated laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) MS has been shown to be a rapid and sensitive method for characterization of micro-organisms. In this study, we therefore established a reference database of selected ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Campylobacter published 1 February 2010:

Evaluation of live-attenuated Salmonella vaccines expressing Campylobacter antigens for control of C. jejuni in poultry.   Vaccine, 28(4): 1094-105.

Campylobacter jejuni is a zoonotic bacterial pathogen of worldwide importance. It is estimated that 460,000 human infections occur in the United Kingdom per annum and these involve acute enteritis and may be complicated by severe systemic sequelae. Such infections are frequently associated with the consumption of contaminated poultry meat and strategies to control C. jejuni in poultry are expected to limit pathogen entry into the food chain and the incidence of human disease. Toward this aim, a ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Campylobacter published 28 January 2010:

Nucleases encoded by the integrated elements CJIE2 and CJIE4 inhibit natural transformation of Campylobacter jejuni.   J Bacteriol, 192(4): 936-41.

The species Campylobacter jejuni is naturally competent for DNA uptake; nevertheless, nonnaturally transformable strains do exist. For a subset of strains we previously showed that a periplasmic DNase, encoded by dns, inhibits natural transformation in C. jejuni. In the present study, genetic factors coding for DNase activity in the absence of dns were identified. DNA arrays indicated that nonnaturally transformable dns-negative strains contain putative DNA/RNA nonspecific endonucleases encoded ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Campylobacter published 20 January 2010:

Development and evaluation of internal amplification controls for use in a real-time duplex PCR assay for detection of Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni.   J Med Microbiol, 59: 172-8.

A common problem of both conventional and real-time PCR assays is failure of DNA amplification due to the presence of inhibitory substances in samples. In view of this, our aim was to develop and evaluate internal amplification controls (IACs) for use with an existing duplex real-time PCR assay for Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni. Both competitive and non-competitive IACs were developed and evaluated. The competitive approach involved a DNA fragment of the coding region of the fish ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Campylobacter published 15 January 2010:

Prevalence and patterns of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp isolated from pigs reared under antimicrobial-free and conventional production methods in eight states in the Midwestern United States.   J Am Vet Med Assoc, 236(2): 201-10.

OBJECTIVE: To compare apparent prevalence and patterns of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp in feces collected from pigs reared with antimicrobial-free versus conventional production methods in 8 states in the Midwestern United States. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SAMPLE POPULATION: 95 swine farms that used antimicrobial-free (n = 35) or conventional (60) production methods. PROCEDURES: Fecal samples from 15 pigs/farm were collected. Biochemical and multiplex-PCR analyses were ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Campylobacter published 29 December 2009:

A genomic island defines subspecies-specific virulence features of the host-adapted pathogen Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis.   J Bacteriol, 192(2): 502-17.

The pathogen Campylobacter fetus comprises two subspecies, C. fetus subsp. fetus and C. fetus subsp. venerealis. Although these taxa are highly related on the genome level, they are adapted to distinct hosts and tissues. C. fetus subsp. fetus infects a diversity of hosts, including humans, and colonizes the gastrointestinal tract. In contrast, C. fetus subsp. venerealis is largely restricted to the bovine genital tract, causing epidemic abortion in these animals. In light of their close genetic ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Campylobacter published 28 December 2009:

Characterization of a bifunctional pyranose-furanose mutase from Campylobacter jejuni 11168.   J Biol Chem, 285(1): 493-501.

UDP-galactopyranose mutases (UGM) are the enzymes responsible for the synthesis of UDP-galactofuranose (UDP-Galf) from UDP-galactopyranose (UDP-Galp). The enzyme, encoded by the glf gene, is present in bacteria, parasites, and fungi that express Galf in their glycoconjugates. Recently, a UGM homologue encoded by the cj1439 gene has been identified in Campylobacter jejuni 11168, an organism possessing no Galf-containing glycoconjugates. However, the capsular polysaccharide from this strain ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Campylobacter published 16 December 2009:

Campylobacter jejuni FlpA binds fibronectin and is required for maximal host cell adherence.   J Bacteriol, 192(1): 68-76.

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most frequent bacterial causes of food-borne gastrointestinal disease in developed countries. Previous work indicates that the binding of C. jejuni to human intestinal cells is crucial for host colonization and disease. Fibronectin (Fn), a major constituent of the extracellular matrix, is a approximately 250-kDa glycoprotein present at regions of cell-to-cell contact in the intestinal epithelium. Fn is composed of three types of repeating units: type I ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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