College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.
Department of Food and Animal Biotechnology, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, and Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea; Center for Food Bioconvergence, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.
Vet Microbiol. 2022 Jan;264:109308. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2021.109308. Epub 2021 Dec 14.
Although Campylobacter, an obligate microaerophilic foodborne pathogen, is susceptible to oxygen, aerotolerant/hyper-aerotolerant (HAT) Campylobacter can survive under aerobic conditions. Here, we aimed to reveal what affects the enhanced aerotolerance in HAT Campylobacter coli at genome and gene expression levels. We compared the whole genomes between HAT and oxygen-sensitive (OS) C. coli isolates from swine and analyzed the relative expressions of oxidative stress-related (sodB, ahpC, katA, and trxB) and iron transport/uptake-related (cfbpA, ceuE, feuB, and feoB) genes. The comparative genomics showed no relation between the clustering of the strains and aerotolerance levels. The reactive oxygen species-related factors involved in respiration, stress response, and iron acquisition/uptake were similar among the strains, regardless of their aerotolerance levels. However, the expressions of the oxidative stress-related genes under aerobic conditions compared to that of microaerobic conditions increased in the HAT strains, while decreased in the OS strains. Our findings suggest that what influences differences in aerotolerance between HAT and OS C. coli may be due to the differential expressions of oxidative stress-related genes despite the similarities in genomic structure. This study provides insights into the genetic basis of aerotolerance in C. coli. Therefore, it could assist in managing HAT C. coli that has the potential to be easily transmitted to humans through the food chain.
尽管弯曲菌是一种需氧的食源性病原体，但兼性需氧菌/耐氧超氧菌（HAT）弯曲菌可以在有氧条件下存活。在这里，我们旨在揭示在 HAT 弯曲菌属大肠杆菌中，哪些因素会影响其增强的耐氧性，从基因组和基因表达水平进行了研究。我们比较了来自猪的 HAT 和对氧敏感（OS）C. coli 分离株的全基因组，并分析了与氧化应激相关（sodB、ahpC、katA 和 trxB）和铁运输/摄取相关（cfbpA、ceuE、feuB 和 feoB）基因的相对表达水平。比较基因组学表明，菌株的聚类与耐氧水平之间没有关系。无论耐氧水平如何，与呼吸、应激反应和铁获取/摄取相关的活性氧相关因素在菌株之间是相似的。然而，与微需氧条件相比，在有氧条件下，HAT 菌株中与氧化应激相关的基因表达增加，而 OS 菌株中则减少。我们的研究结果表明，影响 HAT 和 OS C. coli 之间耐氧性差异的因素可能是由于氧化应激相关基因的表达不同，尽管基因组结构相似。本研究为弯曲菌属耐氧性的遗传基础提供了新的见解。因此，它可以帮助管理 HAT 弯曲菌，因为它有可能通过食物链容易传播给人类。
