Article
The distribution of Campylobacter jejuni virulence genes in genomes worldwide derived from the NCBI pathogen detection database
Registration in:
PANZENHAGEN, Pedro et al. The distribution of Campylobacter jejuni virulence genes in genomes worldwide derived from the NCBI pathogen detection database. Genes, v. 12, n. 10, p. 1-13, 28 Sept. 2021.
2073-4425
10.3390/genes12101538
2073-4425
Author
Panzenhagen, Pedro
Portes, Ana Beatriz
Santos, Anamaria M. P. dos
Duque, Sheila da Silva
Conte Junior, Carlos Adam
Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) is responsible for 80% of human campylobacteriosis and is the leading cause of gastroenteritis globally. The relevant public health risks of C. jejuni are caused by particular virulence genes encompassing its virulome. We analyzed 40,371 publicly available genomes of C. jejuni deposited in the NCBI Pathogen Detection Database, combining their epidemiologic metadata with an in silico bioinformatics analysis to increase our current comprehension of their virulome from a global perspective. The collection presented a virulome composed of 126 identified virulence factors that were grouped in three clusters representing the accessory, the softcore, and the essential core genes according to their prevalence within the genomes. The multilocus sequence type distribution in the genomes was also investigated. An unexpected low prevalence of the fulllength flagellin flaA and flaB locus of C. jejuni genomes was revealed, and an essential core virulence gene repertoire prevalent in more than 99.99% of genomes was identified. Altogether, this is a pioneer study regarding Campylobacter jejuni that has compiled a significant amount of data about the Multilocus Sequence Type and virulence factors concerning their global prevalence and distribution over this database.