Integrated Genetic and Phenotypic Analysis for the Capsulars from Different Serotype of Campylobacter jejuni
Abstract Background: Serotyping is one of the important typing scheme for Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni). However, this method is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Nowadays, genotypic analysis of the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) loci for the different serotype strains has been developed based on the unique sequences in specific serotypes. In order to establish the correlation between the genotypes and serotype characteristics, the genetic and phenotypic analysis was conducted in this study. Results: Draft-genome sequencing, followed by PCR, was performed to obtain the integrated CPS loci. Totally, the CPS loci from 26 C. jejuni isolates belonging to 9 genotypes were obtained, of which 15 serotypeable strains belonging to 10 serotypes. The main genetic polymorphisms of CPS loci are substitutions and variations in poly-G or poly-A tracts from the same genotype or serotype strains. A serotypic analysis was performed with different antigens, including the whole cell lysates, CPS and lipooligosaccharide (LOS), extracted from different strains. Compared to the results of the agglutination reaction with antiserum, similar typing results could be obtained using the CPS extract and LOS extracts did not cause serotype-specific passive agglutination.Conclusion: The genotyping results based on unique sequences were not always consistent with the phenotypic characteristics. The genotyping method based on unique sequences could not replace the serotyping but might be a supplement for genotyping of the non-serotypeable strains. Moreover, the present study supported that the determinant substance for Penner serotyping scheme is the CPS from C. jejuni instead of LOS.