Frequent Implication of Multistress-TolerantCampylobacter jejuniin Human Infections

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni, a major cause of bacterial foodborne illnesses, is considered highly susceptible to environmental stresses. In this study, we extensively investigated the stress tolerance of 121 clinical strains of C. jejuni against 5 stress conditions (aerobic stress, disinfectant exposure, freeze-thaw, heat treatment, and osmotic stress) that this pathogenic bacterium might encounter during foodborne transmission to humans. In contrast to our current perception about high stress sensitivity of C. jejuni, a number of clinical strains of C. jejuni were highly tolerant to multiple stresses. We performed population genetics analysis by using comparative genomic fingerprinting and showed that multistress-tolerant strains of C. jejuni constituted distinct clades. The comparative genomic fingerprinting subtypes belonging to multistress-tolerant clades were more frequently implicated in human infections than those in stress-sensitive clades. We identified unique stress-tolerant C. jejuni clones and showed the role of stress tolerance in human campylobacteriosis.

Strain-Specific Differences in Survival of Campylobacter spp. in Naturally Contaminated Turkey Feces and Water

“…The low temperature (4°C) employed in the current study was intentionally chosen to enhance the potential to detect differences in survival among different strains of C. jejuni and C. coli shed by the birds in the feces. Campylobacter strains can differ in their cold tolerance (41)(42)(43)(44), and such differences may contribute to the current findings. In addition to temperature, other attributes, including the avian source (chicken versus turkey) and the Campylobacter species and strains involved, may contribute to the observed differences in survival between our study and others.…”

Campylobacter jejuni Biofilm Formation Under Aerobic Conditions and Inhibition by ZnO Nanoparticles

“…Campylobacter jejuni is a zoonotic pathogen, and it is a major cause of foodborne diseases all over the world (Ica et al, 2012). Planktonic C. jejuni is extremely susceptible to multiple stressors (Lee et al, 2019;Oh et al, 2019), especially to oxygen pressure in the environment, as aerotolerance factors heavily in the transmission of C. jejuni to humans via foods under aerobic conditions (Euna et al, 2015;Oh et al, 2018). C. jejuni can be observed in a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state in vitro (Magajna and Schraft, 2015;Stetsenko et al, 2019).…”

“…Research has shown that the formation of C. jejuni monoculture biofilms is difficult (Joshua et al, 2006;Hanning et al, 2008). The current study simulated the conditions (Oh et al, 2018) involved in the C. jejuni infection of humans (at 37 • C under aerobic conditions representing the natural atmosphere) and explored the mechanisms related to infection.…”

A Review of Salmonella and Campylobacter in Broiler Meat: Emerging Challenges and Food Safety Measures

“…In cases involving human infections, there is a high prevalence of aerotolerant Campylobacter strains. One recent study found that out of 121 sample strains, 65 were considered hyper-tolerant and 46 were tolerant to oxygen [70]. Strains hyper-tolerant to oxygen also exhibited tolerance to other stressors.…”

“…Strains hyper-tolerant to oxygen also exhibited tolerance to other stressors. Of the 65 strains hyper-tolerant to oxygen, 56 were tolerant to heat treatment at 72 • C for 30 s [70]. Because Campylobacter has been associated with high environmental sensitivity, the survivability of C. jejuni has been underestimated, which may suggest increased monitoring of this pathogen may be necessary [70].…”