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Abstract:

C. jejuni has been continuously reported as the major cause of foodborne bacterial enteritis in developed countries. Despite its fastidious growth requirements and relatively small genome, C. jejuni has developed strategies to overcome stress during food processing without permanent loss of viability and virulence. Unlike other pathogens, Campylobacter lacks the sigma factor RpoS responsible for global stress response and switch to stationary phase. Therefore, the first part of this work was focused on the factors involved in C. jejuni growth by comparing log and stationary phases of C. jejuni. In particular, we investigated the possible role of the regulator CosR. In the second part, we explored the biofilm development of C. jejuni as a potential mechanism of persistence in the food environment. The biofilm spatial distribution and organization of two well-known strains were analyzed. The biofilm architecture differed between the two strains ranging from finger-like structure with voids to compact multilayer-like structure. Exposure of cells to oxygen enriched conditions prior to and during biofilm formation enhanced biofilm development. The role of CosR in biofilm maturation was demonstrated using a cosR overexpressing transformant. Finally, a biofilm matrix of the two test strains was partly identified. Altogether, these data indicate that C. jejuni biofilms could serve as a protective niche facilitating the survival of C. jejuni in the environment.

Valorisation :

• Turonova, H., N. Haddad, M. Hernould, D. Chevret, J. Pazlarova and O. Tresse 2017. Profiling of Campylobacter jejuni proteome in exponential and stationary phase of growth. Frontiers in Microbiology 8(913). Ranking du JCR: Q2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00913.
• Bronnec, V., H. Turonova, A. Bouju, S. Cruveiller, R. Rodrigues, K. Demnerova, O. Tresse, N. Haddad and M. Zagorec 2016. Adhesion, biofilm formation, and genomic features of Campylobacter jejuni Bf, an atypical strain able to grow under aerobic conditions. Frontiers in Microbiology 7: 1-14. Ranking du JCR: Q1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01002.
• Turonova, H., T. R. Neu, P. Ulbrich, J. Pazlarova and O. Tresse 2016. The biofilm matrix of Campylobacter jejuni determined by fluorescence lectin-binding analysis. Biofouling 32(5): 597-608. Ranking du JCR: Q1. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2016.1169402.
• Turonova, H., R. Briandet, R. Rodrigues, M. Hernould, N. Hayek, A. Stintzi, J. Pazlarova and O. Tresse 2015. Biofilm spatial organization by the emerging pathogen Campylobacter jejuni: comparison between NCTC 11168 and 81-176 strains under microaerobic and oxygen-enriched conditions. Frontiers in Microbiology 6: 1-11. Ranking du JCR: Q1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00709.