Aerotolerance and multilocus sequence typing among <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> strains isolated from humans, broiler chickens, and cattle in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the leading causes of human gastroenteritis in Japan. As chickens and cattle are common reservoirs for C. jejuni , this microaerophilic, stress-sensitive bacterium can overcome and survive various stress conditions during zoonotic transmission, particularly foodborne, to humans. How C. jejuni overcomes stress conditions is, however, unclear. In the present study, 70 C. jejuni strains isolated from various sources (26 human, 20 broilers, and 24 cattle isolates) in Miyazaki, Japan, from 2010 to 2012, were subjected to multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and aerotolerance testing (aerobic shaking at 200 rpm). The results demonstrated that C. jejuni strains from Miyazaki belonged to 12 clonal complexes (CCs) and 43 sequence types (STs). CC-21 and CC-460 were mainly detected in human clinical strains. Most tested strains were aerotolerant, and only one (1.4%) was deemed sensitive to aerobic stress. Approximately 40% strains survived the 24-hr vigorous aerobic shaking at 200 rpm, and these hyper-aerotolerant strains were more prevalent in broiler and cattle isolates than in human isolates. Phylogenetic analysis divided the strains into five clusters, each showing a different pattern of host association. Thus, we have demonstrated for the first time that C. jejuni strains with increased tolerance to aerobic stress are highly prevalent in broilers and cattle in Miyazaki, Japan, and that certain clonal populations are frequently implicated in human infection in this area.

Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles, Virulence Genes, and Genetic Diversity of Thermophilic Campylobacter Species Isolated From a Layer Poultry Farm in Korea

“…In 2019, ST-21, ST-50, and ST-137 have been isolated from wild ducks, indicating their widespread distribution ( Wei et al, 2019 ). Three of the 10 STs (607, 443, and 51) were found in Japan and China ( Ozawa et al, 2016 ; Ma et al, 2017 ), while CC-460 and CC-607 have also been reported in samples from humans and cattle, indicating their threat to public health ( Ozawa et al, 2016 ; Kiatsomphob et al, 2019 ; Wei et al, 2019 ). CC-460 and CC-607 are thought to be virulent as they both possess many virulence genes.…”

“…In Japan, CC-21 is known as the prevalent clonal complex in human-derived C. jejuni isolates sharing a common genetic background and similar antimicrobial susceptibilities with C. jejuni strains from chicken ( Ohishi et al, 2017 ). CC-21 (ST-50 and ST-21) could be of interest in the region as it has been found in Korea, Japan, and China from humans, poultry, and cattle ( Ozawa et al, 2016 ; Oh et al, 2017 ; Kiatsomphob et al, 2019 ; Wei et al, 2019 ; Zhang et al, 2020 ). However, further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.…”

Molecular Epidemiology of and Risk Factors for Extensively Drug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Infections in Southwestern China: A Retrospective Study

“…The housekeeping genes primer sequence of K. pneumoniae was shown in Table S2 . The PCR conditions were queried, and data were analyzed using the K. pneumoniae MLST website () (Joseph and Forsythe, 2017; Kiatsomphob et al, 2019; Shoaei et al, 2019).…”

Work-related increases in titer of <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> antibody among workers at a chicken processing plant in Miyazaki prefecture, Japan, independent of individual ingestion of edible raw chicken meat

“…Four C. jejuni strains (Penner serotypes and origins), AK1 (HS:3, chicken meat), B19 (untypable, cecum content of a broiler chicken), C65 (HS:4, rectal content of cattle) and H96 (HS:3, feces of a patient with enteritis), were used as a cocktail antigen for the ELISA and Western blotting assay. These strains were selected as representing the most dominant clonal complex (CC65) of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) observed in Miyazaki prefecture [11]. They were grown in Brucella agar (Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) at 37 °C for 18-24 hr under microaerobic conditions.…”

“…ELISA was conducted to assess the IgG and IgA responses of female workers against C. jejuni. Due to the diversity of C. jejuni antigens, we used pooled samples of local strains that were the dominant MLST in Miyazaki prefecture among various sources [11] to provide soluble antigens for this assay. The use of such pooled samples has been standard practice for the development of broadly specific serological assays with considerable serotype heterogeneity [10].…”