Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Poultry Microbiological Safety and Processing Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #433075
Research Project: Intervention Strategies to Control Salmonella and Campylobacter During Poultry Processing

Location: Poultry Microbiological Safety and Processing Research Unit

Title: Phenotypic and genotypic determination of aerotolerant growth in Campylobacter species isolated from commercial broiler chickens at slaughter

Author
item McMillan, Elizabeth
item ROBINSON-MCKENZIE, TANISHA - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item MEINERSMANN, RICHARD - Retired ARS Employee (USA)
item BERRANG, MARK - Retired ARS Employee (USA)

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/21/2026
Publication Date: 5/25/2026
Citation: Mcmillan, E.A., Robinson-Mckenzie, T., Meinersmann, R., Berrang, M. 2026. Phenotypic and genotypic determination of aerotolerant growth in Campylobacter species isolated from commercial broiler chickens at slaughter. Journal of Food Protection. Volume 89, Issue 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2026.100821.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2026.100821

Interpretive Summary: Campylobacter is a bacteria which can cause human foodborne illness if meat is improperly cooked or mishandled. Most Campylobacter require an environment with low oxygen environment to grow, such as the chicken gut. However, Campylobacter which are tolerant to ambient conditions are an emerging concern as they may be able to survive chicken processing. In this study, the ability of 280 Campylobacter isolates to grow in standard air conditions was investigated. It was determined that about half of the isolates were able to grow in standard air conditions. Additionally, genes which may help Campylobacter to grow in standard conditions were identified, including one gene present in most of the isolates which grew in standard air and 24 genes which were absent from most of these isolates.

Technical Abstract: Campylobacter species are a leading cause of human foodborne illness which are often attributed to consumption of contaminated poultry meat products. Aerotolerant Campylobacter species are an emerging concern and therefore, we investigated phenotypic indicators of aerotolerance in 280 Campylobacter species isolated from broilers at processing over a seven-year period. Greater than 48% of isolates investigated exhibited phenotypic characteristics of aerotolerance; defined here as the ability to grow under aerobic conditions. However, when exposed to peracetic acid, aerotolerant isolates did not exhibit different tolerance than non-aerotoloerant isolates. Additionally, we investigated potential genetic mechanisms to explain differences in aerotolerance. A single gene, encoding a hypothetical protein, was identified which was present in greater than 70% of isolates which grew under aerobic conditions and in less than 30% of isolates which never grew aerobically. Conversely, 24 genes were present in greater than 70% of non-aerotolerant isolates but absent from greater than 70% of aerotolerant isolates. This analysis identified genes which have the potential to influence aerotolerance in Campylobacter species, but further investigation is needed to confirm involvement.