ARS | Publication request: The complete genome sequence and analysis of the Epsilonproteobacterium Arcobacter butzleri.

Submitted to: PLoS One
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: November 16, 2007
Publication Date: December 26, 2007
Citation: Miller, W.G., Parker, C., Rubenfield, M., Mendz, G.L., Wosten, M.M., Ussery, D.W., Stolz, J.F., Binnewies, T.T., Hallin, P.F., Wang, G., Malek, J.A., Rogosin, A., Stanker, L.H., Mandrell, R.E. 2007. The complete genome sequence and analysis of the Epsilonproteobacterium Arcobacter butzleri. PLoS One. 2(12):e1358.

Interpretive Summary: Although food-borne pathogens like Campylobacter jejuni are major causal agents of gastroenteritis world-wide, other less well-characterized food-borne organisms have been implicated increasingly in human disease. One of these organisms is Arcobacter butzleri. Arcobacter butzleri, a relative of C. jejuni, is a common food contaminant and causes the same clinical disease symptoms as C. jejuni. However, little is known about this organism. Therefore, to characterize A. butzleri, the complete chromosomal DNA sequence was determined for a human clinical isolate of this species. Surprisingly, A. butzleri is less related to Campylobacters than to environmental organisms from the Helicobacters. Also, a number of genes involved in adaptation to diverse environmental conditions were identified as well as several conserved and novel genes involved in pathogenicity. In addition a DNA microarray for A. butzleri was constructed permitting comparison of the sequenced strain to 12 additional A. butzleri isolates, either environmental or clinical. Conservation across much of the chromosome for the 13 strains was observed; however, notable differences were also identified.

Technical Abstract: The human pathogen Arcobacter butzleri is a member of the epsilon subdivision of the Proteobacteria and a close taxonomic relative of other established pathogens, such as Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori. Here we present the complete genome sequence of the human clinical isolate, A. butzleri strain RM4018. Arcobacter butzleri is a member of the Campylobacteraceae, but the majority of its proteome is most similar to those of Thiomicrospira denitrificans and Wolinella succinogenes, both members of the Helicobacteraceae. In addition, many of the genes and pathways described here, e.g. those involved in signal transduction and sulfur metabolism, have been identified previously within the epsilon subdivision only in T. denitrificans and/or W. succinogenes, or are unique to the subdivision. In addition, the analyses indicated also that a substantial proportion of the A. butzleri genome is devoted to growth and survival under diverse environmental conditions, with a large number of respiration-associated proteins, signal transduction and chemotaxis proteins and proteins involved in DNA repair and adaptation. To investigate the genomic diversity of A. butzleri strains, we constructed an A. butzleri DNA microarray comprising 2238 genes from strain RM4018. Comparative genomic indexing analysis of 12 additional A. butzleri strains identified both the core genes of A. butzleri and intraspecies hypervariable regions, where < 70% of the genes were present in at least two strains. The presence of environmentally-associated pathways and loci, as well as genes associated with virulence indicates that this free-living, water-borne organism A. butzleri can be classified rightfully as an emerging pathogen.