AUTHOR=Middendorf Pjotr S. , Jacobs-Reitsma Wilma F. , Zomer Aldert L. , den Besten Heidy M. W. , Abee Tjakko 

TITLE=Comparative Analysis of L-Fucose Utilization and Its Impact on Growth and Survival of Campylobacter Isolates

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.872207

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.872207

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Campylobacter jejuni</italic> and <italic>Campylobacter coli</italic> were previously considered asaccharolytic, but are now known to possess specific saccharide metabolization pathways, including L-fucose. To investigate the influence of the L-fucose utilization cluster on <italic>Campylobacter</italic> growth, survival and metabolism, we performed comparative genotyping and phenotyping of the <italic>C. jejuni</italic> reference isolate NCTC11168 (human isolate), <italic>C. jejuni</italic> Ca1352 (chicken meat isolate), <italic>C. jejuni</italic> Ca2426 (sheep manure isolate), and <italic>C. coli</italic> Ca0121 (pig manure isolate), that all possess the L-fucose utilization cluster. All isolates showed enhanced survival and prolonged spiral cell morphology in aging cultures up to day seven in L-fucose-enriched MEMα medium (MEMαF) compared to MEMα. HPLC analysis indicated L-fucose utilization linked to acetate, lactate, pyruvate and succinate production, confirming the activation of the L-fucose pathway in these isolates and its impact on general metabolism. Highest consumption of L-fucose by <italic>C. coli</italic> Ca0121 is conceivably linked to its enhanced growth performance up to day 7, reaching 9.3 log CFU/ml compared to approximately 8.3 log CFU/ml for the <italic>C. jejuni</italic> isolates. Genetic analysis of the respective L-fucose clusters revealed several differences, including a 1 bp deletion in the <italic>Cj0489</italic> gene of <italic>C. jejuni</italic> NCTC11168, causing a frameshift in this isolate resulting in two separate genes, <italic>Cj0489</italic> and <italic>Cj0490</italic>, while no apparent phenotype could be linked to the presumed frameshift in this isolate. Additionally, we found that the L-fucose cluster of <italic>C. coli</italic> Ca0121 was most distant from <italic>C. jejuni</italic> NCTC11168, but confirmation of links to L-fucose metabolism associated phenotypic traits in <italic>C. coli</italic> versus <italic>C. jejuni</italic> isolates requires further studies.</p>