The role of chemotaxis during Campylobacter jejuni colonisation and pathogenesis

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni is a ubiquitous gastrointestinal pathogen, transmitted to humans from birds and animals, where C. jejuni is part of normal intestinal flora. In C. jejuni, similar to other motile bacteria, chemotaxis pathway and the array of chemosensors sense and respond to external stimuli with unique precision and sensitivity and are considered to be critical for bacterial colonisation and pathogenicity. Disruption of any component of the signal transduction pathway consisting of receptor-CheA/CheW-CheY-flagella cascade, the signal adaptation system, and even a loss of a single chemosensory receptor, dramatically reduce the ability of C. jejuni to colonise various animal hosts and to cause disease.