Differential carbon source utilization by Campylobacter jejuni 11168 in response to growth temperature variation

Campylobacter spp. readily colonize the intestinal tracts of both human and avian species. While most often commensal organisms in birds, campylobacters remain the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. The association of campylobacters with poultry is well established as a primary route for human exposure. The difference in normal core body temperature between chickens (42 °C) and humans (37 °C) has been suggested to trigger potential colonization or virulence factors and investigators have demonstrated differential gene expression at the two temperatures. Campylobacter spp. exhibit unique nutritional requirements and have been thought to only utilize amino acids and Kreb cycle intermediates as carbon sources for growth. We evaluated the ability of the genome-sequenced strain of Campylobacter jejuni 11168 (GS) to oxidize 190 different substrates as sole carbon sources at 37 °C and 42 °C using phenotype microarray (PM) technology. Results indicate that the expected amino acids, l-serine, l-aspartic acid, l-asparagine, and l-glutamic acid were utilized in addition to a number of organic acids. In general, oxidation of the substrates was greater at 42 °C than at 37 °C with a few exceptions. By employing the PM method, we observed a number of potential false-positive reactions for substrates including the triose, dihydroxyacetone; and the pentose sugars, d-xylose, d-ribose, l-lyxose, and d- and l-arabinose. The presence of genes possibly responsible for utilization of pentose sugars is supported by the genomic sequence data, but actual utilization as sole carbon sources for active respiration has not been observed. A better understanding of the metabolic pathways and nutritional requirements of campylobacters could lead to improvements in culture media for detection and isolation of the pathogen and to future intervention methods to reduce human exposure.