Cj0440c Affects Flagella Formation and In Vivo Colonization of Erythromycin-Susceptible and -Resistant Campylobacter jejuni

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology 2017-04, Vol.8, p.729-729
• Main Authors: Hao, Haihong, Fang, Xia, Han, Jing, Foley, Steven L, Wang, Yulian, Cheng, Guyue, Wang, Xu, Huang, Lingli, Dai, Menghong, Liu, Zhenli, Yuan, Zonghui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Campylobacter jejuni; Cj0440c; colonization; erythromycin resistance; flagella; Microbiology
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00729

is one of the most common foodborne pathogen worldwide. A putative transcriptional regulator, , was up-regulated in the erythromycin-resistant , however, the precise role of is yet to be determined. The aim of this study was to determine the biological functions of . The isogenic mutants were constructed from erythromycin-susceptible NCTC 11168 (S) and -resistant 68-ER (R), designating as SM and RM, respectively. The isogenic Cj0440c mutants (SM and RM) and parental strains (S and R) were subjected to microarray and qRT-PCR analysis to examine the transcriptional profile changes contributed by . The antimicrobial susceptibility, flagellar morphology, growth and colonization in chickens were carried out to analyze the biological function of . The results showed that 17 genes were down-regulated in SM compared to S, while 9 genes were down-regulated in RM compared to R. The genes with transcriptional change were mainly involved in flagella biosynthesis and assembly. Using transmission electron microscopy, we found that the filaments were impaired in SM and lost in RM. The chicken colonization experiments showed that mutants (SM and RM) had reduced colonization ability in chickens when compared with corresponding parental strains (S and R). In conclusion, regulates flagella biosynthesis and assembly, and consequently affect the colonization of erythromycin-susceptible and -resistant .