Project description:Campylobacter jejuni is currently the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. Comparison of multiple Campylobacter strains revealed a high genetic and phenotypic diversity. However, little is known about differences in transcriptome organization, gene expression, and small RNA (sRNA) repertoires. Here we present the first comparative primary transcriptome analysis based on the differential RNA–seq (dRNA–seq) of four C. jejuni isolates. Our approach includes a novel, generic method for the automated annotation of transcriptional start sites (TSS), which allowed us to provide genome-wide promoter maps in the analyzed strains. These global TSS maps are refined through the integration of a SuperGenome approach that allows for a comparative TSS annotation by mapping RNA–seq data of multiple strains into a common coordinate system derived from a whole-genome alignment. Considering the steadily increasing amount of RNA–seq studies, our automated TSS annotation will not only facilitate transcriptome annotation for a wider range of pro- and eukaryotes but can also be adapted for the analysis among different growth or stress conditions. Our comparative dRNA–seq analysis revealed conservation of most TSS, but also single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNP) in promoter regions, which lead to strain-specific transcriptional output. Furthermore, we identified strain-specific sRNA repertoires that could contribute to differential gene regulation among strains. In addition, we identified a novel minimal CRISPR-system in Campylobacter of the type-II CRISPR subtype, which relies on the host factor RNase III and a trans-encoded sRNA for maturation of crRNAs. This minimal system of Campylobacter, which seems active in only some strains, employs a unique maturation pathway, since the crRNAs are transcribed from individual promoters in the upstream repeats and thereby minimize the requirements for the maturation machinery. Overall, our study provides new insights into strain-specific transcriptome organization and sRNAs, and reveals genes that could modulate phenotypic variation among strains despite high conservation at the DNA level.
Project description:Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of campylobacteriosis in the developed world. Although most cases are caused by consumption of contaminated meat, a significant proportion is caused by consumption of contaminated water. Some C. jejuni isolates are better than others at surviving in water, which suggests that these strains are better adapted to transmission by water than others. The aim of this study is to investigate this phenomenon further. CFU counts and viability assays showed that strain 81116 survives better than strain 81-176 in a defined freshwater medium at 4°C. Comparative transcriptomic profiling using microarray revealed that these strains respond differently to water. This series presents the transcriptome of strain 81116 in water.
Project description:Campylobacter, a major foodborne pathogen, is increasingly resistant to macrolide antibibotics. Previous findings suggested that development of macrolide resistance in Campylobacter requires a multi-step process, but the molecular mechanisms involved in the process are not known. In our study, erythromycin-resistant C. jejuni mutant (R) was selected in vitro by stepwise exposure of C. jejuni NCTC11168(S) to increasing concentrations of erythromycin.The resistant were subjected to microarray and the the global transcriptional profile was analyzed. In this series, DNA microarray was used to compare the gene expression profiles of the macrolide-resistant strain with its parent wild-type strain NCTC11168. A large number of gene showed significant changes in R. The up-regulated genes in the resistant strains are involved in miscellaneous periplasmic proteins, efflux protein and putative aminotransferase, while the majority of the down-regulated genes are involved in electron transport, lipoprotein, heat shock protein and unknown function proteins. The over-expression of efflux pump and periplasmic protein was involved in the development of resistance to macrolide in C. jejuni.
Project description:Campylobacter jejuni is a common cause of diarrheal disease worldwide. Human infection typically occurs through the ingestion of contaminated poultry products. We previously demonstrated that an attenuated Escherichia coli live vaccine strain expressing the C. jejuni N-glycan on its surface reduces the Campylobacter load in more than 50% of vaccinated leghorn and broiler birds to undetectable levels (responder birds), whereas the remainder of the animals were still colonized (non-responders). To understand the underlying mechanism, we conducted 3 larger scale vaccination and challenge studies using 135 broiler birds and found a similar responder/non responder effect. The submitted data were used for a genome-wide association study of the chicken responses to glycoconjugate vaccination against Campylobacter jejuni.
Project description:Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of campylobacteriosis in the developed world. Although most cases are caused by consumption of contaminated meat, a significant proportion is caused by consumption of contaminated water. Some C. jejuni isolates are better than others at surviving in water, which suggests that these strains are better adapted to transmission by water than others. The aim of this study is to investigate this phenomenon further. CFU counts and viability assays showed that strain 81116 survives better than strain 81-176 in a defined freshwater medium at 4°C. Comparative transcriptomic profiling using microarray revealed that these strains respond differently to water. This series presents the transcriptome of strain 81-176 in water.