| Species/Subspecies: | Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni | |||||||||
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| Categories: | Zoonotic; motile; notifiable diseases and bacteria | |||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: a curved rod. Species epithet: of jejunum (the middle part of the small intestine). Subspecies epithet: see Species epithet. | |||||||||
| Significance: | [Very important] | |||||||||
| Alternative Species Name(s): | Vibrio jejuni, Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni. | |||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Campylobacteria Order Campylobacterales Family Campylobacteraceae Genus Campylobacter |
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| Type Strain: | ATCC 33560 = CCUG 11284 = NCTC 11351. | |||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell):
| Small, gray and translucent colonies (1-2 mm in diameter) with butter-like consistency. The colonies have smooth edges but irregular shape. The colonies can also be larger and spread to a continuous film ("swarming"). | |||||||||
| Micromorphology:
| Curved (seagull wing shaped) or spiral shaped small motile rods (0.2-0.8 x 0.5-5 µm) with polar flagella. The motility is darting and corkscrew-like. | |||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G- | |||||||||
| Metabolism: | Microaerophilic | |||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | +/+ | |||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Hippuricase + (hippurate +), urease -. Cf. other Campylobacter spp. | |||||||||
| Biochemical Tests: | Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) + | |||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | Campylobacter spp. can neither ferment nor oxidize carbohydrates. | |||||||||
| Spec. Char.: | Thermotolerant. Does not grow at 25°C, but at 42°C. | |||||||||
| Special Media:
| CCD agar (or modified CCD agar) is used for selective isolation of Campylobacter spp. These colonies are white with metallic sheen and an smoth, but irregular, edge. The colonies on CCD agar are great (up to 1 cm in diameter). | |||||||||
| Reservoir: | Birds and mammals (not humans) | |||||||||
| Disease: |
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| Virulence Factors: | Adhesins, cytotoxin, entertoxin, flagella, LPS and siderophore | |||||||||
| Diagnostics: | Direct culture on selective media or culture after selective enrichment. Confirmation by MALDI-TOF, PCR or other molecular methods. Biochemical tests can also be used for confirmation. | |||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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About 40 species have been described within in the genus Campylobacter and some of these are further divided into subspecies. This genus is closely related to the following genera: Sulfurospirillum, Arcobacter and Helicobacter. C. jejuni is closely related to C. lari and C. volucris. | |||||||||
| Legislation: | Findings of thermotolerant Campylobacter in broiler are in Sweden notifiable to the Swedish Board of Agriculture and the County Administrative Board. Campylobacter jejuni belongs to category B as a potential bioterrorism agent according to NIAID. In Sweden, human campylobacteriosis is notifiable to the Public Health Agency of Sweden. | |||||||||
| Comment: | Can be differentiated from subsp. doylei, which does not grow at 42°C. | |||||||||
| Reference(s): | No. 15, 34, 58 | |||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-22 |