Genetic and Phenotypic Variation of <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> NCTC11168 Caused by <i>flhA</i> Mutation during Laboratory Passage.

Xiao Li Chen; Hao Liang; Peng Bo Guo; Yi Xin GU; Jia Qi Wang; Hai Rui Wang; Gui Lan Zhou; Zhu Jun Shao; Jian Zhong Zhang; Mao Jun Zhang

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Genetic and Phenotypic Variation of Campylobacter jejuni NCTC11168 Caused by flhA Mutation during Laboratory Passage.

Author: Xiao Li CHEN ¹ ; Hao LIANG ^{2
,

3} ; Peng Bo GUO ^{2
,

4} ; Yi Xin GU ¹ ; Jia Qi WANG ¹ ; Hai Rui WANG ¹ ; Gui Lan ZHOU ¹ ; Zhu Jun SHAO ¹ ; Jian Zhong ZHANG ¹ ; Mao Jun ZHANG ¹
Author Information

1. State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.
2. State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
3. Department of Microbiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, Shandong, China.
4. Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250000, Shandong, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Campylobacter jejuni; Comparative genomics; Phenotypic variation; flhA
MeSH: Campylobacter jejuni/genetics*; Bacterial Proteins/metabolism*; Mutation; Biological Variation, Population
From: Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2023;36(7):604-613
CountryChina
Language:English
Abstract: OBJECTIVE:Campylobacter jejuni NCTC11168 is commonly used as a standard strain for flagellar biosynthesis research. In this report, two distinguished phenotypic isolates (CJ1Z, flhA mutant strain, lawn; CJ2S, flhA complemented strain, normal colony) appeared during laboratory passages for NCTC11168.
METHODS:Phenotypic assessments, including motility plates, transmission electron microscopy, biofilm formation assay, autoagglutination assay, and genome re-sequencing for these two isolates (CJ1Z, flhA mutant strain; CJ2S, flhA complemented strain) were carried out in this study.
RESULTS:Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the flagellum was lost in CJ1Z. Phenotypic assessments and genome sequencing of the two isolates were performed in this study. The capacity for biofilm formation, colony auto-agglutination, and isolate motility was reduced in the mutant CJ1Z. Comparative genomic analysis indicated a unique native nucleotide insertion in flhA (nt, 2154) that caused the I719Y and I720Y mutations and early truncation in flhA.
CONCLUSION:FlhA has been found to influence the expression of flagella in C. jejuni. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the function of the C-terminal of this protein.