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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 #339973
Research Project: Molecular Identification and Characterization of Bacterial and Viral Pathogens Associated with Foods

Location: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research

Title: Complete genome sequence of the Campylobacter helveticus type strain ATCC 51209T

Author
item Miller, William - Bill
item Yee, Emma
item Bono, James - Jim

Submitted to: Genome Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/7/2017
Publication Date: 5/25/2017
Citation: Miller, W.G., Yee, E., Bono, J.L. 2017. Complete genome sequence of the Campylobacter helveticus type strain ATCC 51209T. Genome Announcements. 5(21): e00398-17.

Interpretive Summary: Campylobacter species are isolated typically from a wide variety of warm-blooded animals and birds. Most are isolated from food animals or livestock. C. helveticus, and the related species C. upsaliensis, are primarily isolated from pets (that is, domestic dogs and cats), although C. upsaliensis is also isolated from wild canids such as coyotes. C. upsaliensis, isolated mostly from dogs and occasionally from cats, is an emerging human pathogen with reported cases of C. upsaliensis-associated gastroenteritis. However, C. helveticus, which has the opposite prevalence (isolated more from cats than dogs) has not been associated (to date) with human illness. To further investigate the differences and features common to C. helveticus and C. upsaliensis, the genome of the feline C. helveticus type strain was sequenced to completion. C. helveticus shares many features with C. upsaliensis, namely the presence of a large number of hypervariable nucleotide sequences and restriction/modification enzymes. The genome sequence was very similar to that of the pathogenic C. upsaliensis, indicating that C. helveticus may be virulent, or that the features determining pathogenicity are more subtle.

Technical Abstract: Campylobacter helveticus has been isolated from domestic dogs and cats. Although C. helveticus is closely related to the emerging human pathogen C. upsaliensis, no C. helveticus-associated cases of human illness have been reported. This study describes the whole-genome sequence of the C. helveticus type strain ATCC 51209T (=CCUG 30682T).