L-cysteine transporter-PCR to detect hydrogen sulfide-producing Campylobacter fetus

PeerJ. 2019 Nov 5:7:e7820. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7820. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Phenotypic differences between Campylobacter fetus fetus and C. fetus venerealis subspecies allow the differential diagnosis of bovine genital campylobacteriosis. The hydrogen sulfide production, for example, is a trait exclusive to C. fetus fetus and C. fetus venerealis biovar intermedius. This gas that can be biochemically tested can be produced from L-cysteine (L-Cys). Herein, we report a novel multiplex-PCR to differentiate C. fetus based on the evaluation of a deletion of an ATP-binding cassette-type L-Cys transporter that could be involved in hydrogen sulfide production, as previously described. A wet lab approach combined with an in silico whole genome data analysis showed complete agreement between this L-Cys transporter-PCR and the hydrogen sulfide production biochemical test. This multiplex-PCR may complement the tests currently employed for the differential diagnosis of C. fetus.

Keywords: Bovine genital campylobacteriosis; Molecular differentiation; PCR; Sulfide production.

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.9880847.v1

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Agency of Promotion of Science and Technology (ANPCyT, project PICT2015-1541), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET, project PIP11220150100316CO) and the National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA, project PNBIO-1131032). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.