title: L-fucose influences chemotaxis and biofilm formation in Campylobacter jejuni.
abstract: Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are zoonotic pathogens once considered asaccharolytic, but are now known to encode pathways for glucose and fucose uptake/metabolism. For C. jejuni, strains with the fuc locus possess a competitive advantage in animal colonization models. We demonstrate that this locus is present in > 50% of genome-sequenced strains and is prevalent in livestock-associated isolates of both species. To better understand how these campylobacters sense nutrient availability, we examined biofilm formation and chemotaxis to fucose. C. jejuni NCTC11168 forms less biofilms in the presence of fucose, although its fucose permease mutant (fucP) shows no change. In a newly developed chemotaxis assay, both wild-type and the fucP mutant are chemotactic towards fucose. C. jejuni 81-176 naturally lacks the fuc locus and is unable to swim towards fucose. Transfer of the NCTC11168 locus into 81-176 activated fucose uptake and chemotaxis. Fucose chemotaxis also correlated with possession of the pathway for C. jejuni RM1221 (fuc+) and 81116 (fuc-). Systematic mutation of the NCTC11168 locus revealed that Cj0485 is necessary for fucose metabolism and chemotaxis. This study suggests that components for fucose chemotaxis are encoded within the fuc locus, but downstream signals only in fuc + strains, are involved in coordinating fucose availability with biofilm development.
authors.affiliation: Alberta Glycomics Centre and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada.
authors.forename: Ritika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
authors.affiliation: Alberta Glycomics Centre and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nothaft
authors.affiliation: Alberta Glycomics Centre and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada.
authors.forename: Jolene
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garber
authors.affiliation: Alberta Glycomics Centre and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xin Kin
authors.affiliation: Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology and Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.affiliation: Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology and Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flint
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Research, Gut Health and Food Safety Programme, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UA, UK.
authors.forename: Arnoud H M
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: van Vliet
authors.affiliation: Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology and Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stintzi
authors.affiliation: Alberta Glycomics Centre and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada.
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Szymanski
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D017000:Campylobacter coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000502:physiology; D005643:Fucose / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005838:Genotype
chemical_list: D005643:Fucose