Genomic and Phenotypic Characterisation of Campylobacter jejuni Isolates From a Waterborne Outbreak

infections are the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis. In Europe, over 246,000 cases are confirmed annually. Infections are often transmitted contaminated food, such as poultry products, but water may be the source of infection as well. The aim of this study was to characterise a selection o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 2020-10, Vol.10, p.594856-594856
Main Authors: Davies, Emma, Ebbesen, Marit, Johansson, Cecilia, Kaden, René, Rautelin, Hilpi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Campylobacter jejuni
Cellular and Infection Microbiology
gene expression
in vitro infection model
outbreak
phylogenetic analyses
waterborne
whole-genome sequencing (WGS)
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Summary:infections are the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis. In Europe, over 246,000 cases are confirmed annually. Infections are often transmitted contaminated food, such as poultry products, but water may be the source of infection as well. The aim of this study was to characterise a selection of human isolates, together with a water isolate, from a waterborne outbreak in Norway in 2019, including human isolates from early, mid-, and late epidemic. The isolates were characterised with whole-genome sequencing, analysing the expression of putative virulence genes and demonstrating the pathogenic potential in an adhesion model using HT-29 cells. All isolates belonged to the multilocus sequence type 1701 and ST45 clonal complex. In the genomic analysis, the water isolate clustered somewhat separately from the human isolates. There was some variation between the human isolates, but the water isolate seemed to display the greatest pathogenic potential, demonstrated by the highest levels of virulence gene expression, adhesion to epithelial cells and IL-8 induction. These results suggest that the water isolate of the study has potential to cause human infections, and that some bacterial changes due to host or environmental adaptation, may occur during a waterborne epidemic. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study on isolates from a waterborne outbreak, including both human isolates and a water isolate, characterised with genomic and phenotypic approaches.
ISSN:2235-2988
2235-2988
DOI:10.3389/fcimb.2020.594856