AUTHOR=Mou Kathy T. , Muppirala Usha K. , Severin Andrew J. , Clark Tyson A. , Boitano Matthew , Plummer Paul J. 

TITLE=A comparative analysis of methylome profiles of Campylobacter jejuni sheep abortion isolate and gastroenteric strains using PacBio data

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=5

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00782

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2014.00782

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Campylobacter jejuni</italic> is a leading cause of human gastrointestinal disease and small ruminant abortions in the United States. The recent emergence of a highly virulent, tetracycline-resistant <italic>C. jejuni</italic> subsp. <italic>jejuni</italic> sheep abortion clone (clone SA) in the United States, and that strain's association with human disease, has resulted in a heightened awareness of the zoonotic potential of this organism. Pacific Biosciences' Single Molecule, Real-Time sequencing technology was used to explore the variation in the genome-wide methylation patterns of the abortifacient clone SA (IA3902) and phenotypically distinct gastrointestinal-specific <italic>C. jejuni</italic> strains (NCTC 11168 and 81-176). Several notable differences were discovered that distinguished the methylome of IA3902 from that of 11168 and 81-176: identification of motifs novel to IA3902, genome-specific hypo- and hypermethylated regions, strain level variability in genes methylated, and differences in the types of methylation motifs present in each strain. These observations suggest a possible role of methylation in the contrasting disease presentations of these three <italic>C. jejuni</italic> strains. In addition, the methylation profiles between IA3902 and a <italic>luxS</italic> mutant were explored to determine if variations in methylation patterns could be identified that might explain the role of LuxS-dependent methyl recycling in IA3902 abortifacient potential.</p>