Insights on the genomic diversity, virulence and resistance profile of a Campylobacter jejuni strain isolated from a hospitalized patient in Brazil

• Published in: Brazilian journal of microbiology Vol. 55; no. 2; pp. 1381 - 1391
• Main Authors: Gomes, Carolina Nogueira, Frazão, Miliane Rodrigues, Seribelli, Amanda Aparecida, Barker, Dillon Oliver Reese, Che, Emily Victoria, Nogueira, Mara Corrêa Lelles, Taboada, Eduardo Napoleon, Falcão, Juliana Pfrimer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.06.2024
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brazil; Caco-2 Cells; Campylobacter Infections - microbiology; Campylobacter jejuni - drug effects; Campylobacter jejuni - genetics; Campylobacter jejuni - isolation & purification; Campylobacter jejuni - pathogenicity; Clinical Microbiology - Research Paper; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Food Microbiology; Genetic Variation; Genome, Bacterial; Humans; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbial Ecology; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiology; Multilocus Sequence Typing; Mycology; Virulence - genetics; Virulence Factors - genetics; Whole Genome Sequencing; Brazil; Whole genome sequence; Caco-2 and U-937 cell lines; Virulence; Campylobacter jejuni; Antimicrobial resistance profile
• ISSN: 1517-8382; 1678-4405; 1678-4405
• DOI: 10.1007/s42770-024-01314-0

Campylobacteriosis is currently recognized as one of the major causes of foodborne bacterial diseases worldwide. In Brazil, there is insufficient data to estimate the impact of Campylobacter in public health. The aim of this present study was to characterize a C. jejuni CJ-HBSJRP strain isolated from a hospitalized patient in Brazil by its ability to invade human Caco-2 epithelial cells, to survive in U937 human macrophages, and to assess its phenotypic antimicrobial resistance profile. In addition, prophages, virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes were search using whole-genome sequencing data. The genetic relatedness was evaluated by MLST and cgMLST analysis by comparison with 29 other C. jejuni genomes isolated from several countries. The CJ-HBSJRP strain showed an invasion percentage of 50% in Caco-2 polarized cells, 37.5% of survivability in U937 cells and was phenotypically resistant to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid. A total of 94 virulence genes related to adherence, biofilm, chemotaxis, immune modulation, invasion process, metabolism, motility and toxin were detected. The resistance genes bla OXA-605 ( bla OXA-61 ), cme B and mutations in the QRDR region of gyr A were also found and none prophages were detected. The MLST analysis showed 23 different STs among the strains studied. Regarding cgMLST analysis, the CJ-HBSJRP strain was genetically distinct and did not group closely to any other isolate. The results obtained reinforce the pathogenic potential of the CJHBSJRP strain and highlighted the need for more careful attention to Campylobacter spp. infections in Brazil since this pathogen has been the most commonly reported zoonosis in several countries worldwide.