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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Produce Safety and Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #165169
Title: FINGERPRINTING OF CAMPYLOBACTER SPECIES AND STRAINS BY MASS SPECTROMETRIC IDENTIFICATION OF PROTEIN BIOMARKERS

Author
item Fagerquist, Clifton - Keith
item Harden, Leslie - Les
item Miller, William - Bill
item FOUTS, DERRICK - INST. OF GENOMIC RESEARCH
item NELSON, KAREN - INST. OF GENOMIC RESEARCH
item Mandrell, Robert

Submitted to: American Society for Mass Spectrometry
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/22/2004
Publication Date: 9/27/2004
Citation: Fagerquist, C.K., Harden, L.A., Miller, W.G., Fouts, D., Nelson, K., Mandrell, R.E. 2004. Fingerprinting of campylobacter species and strains by mass spectrometric identification of protein biomarkers. In: Proceedings of the 52nd American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference and Allied Topics. May 23-27, 2004 Nashville, TN. CDROM

Interpretive Summary: Bacterial illness attributed to Campylobacter accounts for a high percentage of the estimated 77 million yearly incidents of food-borne illness in the USA. Of the 16 species of Campylobacter identified to date, 7 have been identified as potential human pathogens: C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, C. fetus, C. upsaliensis, C. sputorum and C. concisus. In consequence, there is a need for a simple, rapid, rugged, sensitive and specific technique for identifying Campylobacter species. MALDI-TOF-MS analyses of whole cell lysates provide a relatively simple method of species, sub-species and strain differentiation by identification of unique protein biomarkers. Several species of Campylobacter, namely C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, C. fetus, C. upsaliensis, C. sputorum and C. concisus were isolated and distinguishing biomarkers tentatively identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. One biomarker, a DNA-binding protein (HUP), of C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari and C. upsaliensis was isolated and unambiguously identified by comparison of the LC/MS/MS analysis of its tryptic peptides to the protein sequence of the HUP gene from an internal Campylobacter species database generated by genomic sequencing. In addition, ESI/MS molecular weight of the isolated HUP was compared to the hypothetical molecular weight of HUP in the database. The HUP protein, and other protein biomarkers, provide excellent differentiation of Campylobacter species and, in some cases, Campylobacter strains. An unexpected advantage of definitive identification of the HUP biomarker ion was that the +1 and +2 charge states provided a two-point internal calibrant increasing the accuracy of molecular weight measurements of other biomarkers in the MALDI-TOF-MS spectra.

Technical Abstract: Bacterial illness attributed to Campylobacter accounts for a high percentage of the estimated 77 million yearly incidents of food-borne illness in the USA. Of the 16 species of Campylobacter identified to date, 7 have been identified as potential human pathogens: C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, C. fetus, C. upsaliensis, C. sputorum and C. concisus. In consequence, there is a need for a simple, rapid, rugged, sensitive and specific technique for identifying Campylobacter species. MALDI-TOF-MS analyses of whole cell lysates provide a relatively simple method of species, sub-species and strain differentiation by identification of unique protein biomarkers. Several species of Campylobacter, namely C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, C. fetus, C. upsaliensis, C. sputorum and C. concisus were isolated and distinguishing biomarkers tentatively identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. One biomarker, a DNA-binding protein (HUP), of C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari and C. upsaliensis was isolated and unambiguously identified by comparison of the LC/MS/MS analysis of its tryptic peptides to the protein sequence of the HUP gene from an internal Campylobacter species database generated by genomic sequencing. In addition, ESI/MS molecular weight of the isolated HUP was compared to the hypothetical molecular weight of HUP in the database. The HUP protein, and other protein biomarkers, provide excellent differentiation of Campylobacter species and, in some cases, Campylobacter strains. An unexpected advantage of definitive identification of the HUP biomarker ion was that the +1 and +2 charge states provided a two-point internal calibrant increasing the accuracy of molecular weight measurements of other biomarkers in the MALDI-TOF-MS spectra.