Kuufire Emmanuel, Bentum Kingsley E, Nyarku Rejoice, Osei Viona, Elrefaey Asmaa, James Tyric, Woube Yilkal, Folitse Raphael, Samuel Temesgen, Abebe Woubit
Center for Food Animal Health, Food Safety and Defense, Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, USA.
School of Veterinary Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-385-1973, Ghana.
Pathogens. 2025 May 14;14(5):477. doi: 10.3390/pathogens14050477.
spp. are the causative agents of campylobacteriosis, a major foodborne illness globally, with millions of cases reported annually. These pathogens pose significant risks to both human and animal health. Conventional culture-based diagnostic methods are labor-intensive and time-consuming, underscoring the need for more efficient molecular detection strategies. This study employed a pangenomic analysis to identify novel gene-specific markers for pathogenic species and subspecies, laying the groundwork for their application in diverse diagnostic assays. A curated dataset of 105 high-quality genomes, representing 33 species and 9 subspecies, was analyzed using the Roary ILP Bacterial Annotation Pipeline. The results revealed substantial genomic diversity within the genus, with core gene counts varying across different nucleotide identity thresholds. Ribosomal genes such as , , , , , , , , and were consistently identified in the core genome, whereas accessory genes exhibited marked variability. This study uncovered novel and highly specific genetic markers for various species, including , , and for ; hypothetical proteins for and ; for ; and for . These markers demonstrated a specificity of at least 90% with minimal cross-reactivity with non-target organisms. The findings underscore the genomic heterogeneity within and provide essential genetic targets for the enhanced molecular detection of its pathogenic species, subspecies, and biovars.
弯曲杆菌属物种是弯曲杆菌病的病原体，弯曲杆菌病是全球主要的食源性疾病，每年报告数百万病例。这些病原体对人类和动物健康都构成重大风险。传统的基于培养的诊断方法劳动强度大且耗时，这凸显了对更高效分子检测策略的需求。本研究采用泛基因组分析来鉴定致病物种和亚种的新型基因特异性标记，为其在各种诊断检测中的应用奠定基础。使用Roary ILP细菌注释管道分析了一个精心策划的数据集，该数据集包含代表33个物种和9个亚种的105个高质量基因组。结果揭示了该属内大量的基因组多样性，核心基因数量在不同的核苷酸同一性阈值下有所不同。核糖体基因如、、、、、、、和在核心基因组中一直被鉴定出来，而辅助基因则表现出明显的变异性。本研究发现了各种弯曲杆菌属物种的新型且高度特异性的遗传标记，包括用于的、、和；用于的假设蛋白；用于的；以及用于的。这些标记显示出至少90%的特异性，与非靶标生物的交叉反应最小。这些发现强调了弯曲杆菌属内的基因组异质性，并为其致病物种、亚种和生物变种的增强分子检测提供了重要的遗传靶点。
