seed grant competition

Understanding the survival and persistence of the C. jejuni bacterium in food animals and their environments
gireesh rajashekara, Food animal Health research program Gastroenteritis caused by the Campylobacter jejuni bacterium is the most common form of bacterial food poisoning in the United States and worldwide, accounting for up to $6 billion in losses annually. Chickens are the primary source of human infections. Despite progress in recent years, scientists understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of C. jejuni lags behind that of other foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli. In seeking to understand how C. jejuni is able to inflict such damage, the research team hypothesized that a twinarginine translocation (TAT) pathway is a key reason. The TAT pathway is a protein-secretion pathway found in bacteria that secretes partially or fully folded proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria. The TAT pathway represents an important virulence mechanism in many bacterial pathogens and also contributes to the bacterial stress response leading to the survival of pathogenic bacteria in the environment or the host. The research teams hypothesis was that proteins secreted by the TAT system are important for the success of the C. jejuni pathogen because they reinforce the assembly and surface structures necessary for C. jejuni-host interactions as well as stress responses that enable the survival of C. jejuni inside and outside an animal host. The projects goal was to identify and define the importance of TAT-exported proteins to C. jejuni survival and persistence and to evaluate antibacterials, alternative to conventional antibiotics, as a potential pre- and postharvest food safety control strategy. The projects results showed that TAT-exported respiratory proteins contribute in different ways to key C. jejuni traits, depending on the environments temperature and/or oxygen content. Consequently, these proteins partially bestow C. jejuni with its remarkable ability to adapt and survive in a variety of niches, a characteristic that is crucial for understanding this bacteriums prevalence, persistence, and success as a pathogen. Furthermore, researchers determined that the TATexported protein Mfr contributes to C. jejunis oxidative stress responses. In addition, the TAT-exported alkaline phosphatase PhoX and phosphate utilization are critical to C. jejuni physiology and survival, as they are in other bacteria. This combination of TAT-exported proteins and their characteristics seem to be significant factors in contributing to C. jejuni survival and persistence. Finally, high throughput screening identified approximately 500 small molecules alternatives to antibiotics that are effective against C. jejuni. These compounds are being evaluated for potential commercial use.

gireesh rajashekara

Scientists understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of C. jejuni lags behind that of other foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli.

www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/seeds

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SEEDS: The OARDC Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Program