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Infection and Immunity, March 2004, p. 1715-1724, Vol. 72, No. 3
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.3.1715-1724.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Conservation and Diversity of sap Homologues and Their Organization among Campylobacter fetus Isolates

Zheng-Chao Tu,1,2 John Hui,1 and Martin J. Blaser1,2,3*

Departments of Medicine,1 Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine,2 Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York, New York 100163

Received 5 September 2003/ Returned for modification 24 October 2003/ Accepted 23 November 2003

Campylobacter fetus surface layer proteins (SLPs), encoded by sapA homologues, are important in virulence. In wild-type C. fetus strain 23D, all eight sapA homologues are located in the 54-kb sap island, and SLP expression reflects the position of a unique sapA promoter in relation to the sapA homologues. The extensive homologies in the sap island include both direct and inverted repeats, which allow DNA rearrangements, deletion, or duplication; these elements confer substantial potential for genomic plasticity. To better understand C. fetus sap island diversity and variation mechanisms, we investigated the organization and distribution of sapA homologues among 18 C. fetus strains of different subspecies, serotypes, and origins. For all type A strains, the boundaries of the sap island were relatively consistent. A 187-bp noncoding DNA insertion near the upstream boundary of the sap island was found in two of three reptile strains studied. The sapA homologue profiles were strain specific, and six new sapA homologues were recognized. Several homologues from reptile strains are remarkably conserved in relation to their corresponding mammalian homologues. In total, the observed differences suggest that the sap island has evolved differing genotypes that are plastic, perhaps enabling colonization of varied niches, in addition to antigenic variation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Ave., New York, NY 10016. Phone: (212) 263-6394. Fax: (212) 263-7700. E-mail: martin.blaser{at}med.nyu.edu.

Editor: W. A. Petri, Jr.

Infection and Immunity, March 2004, p. 1715-1724, Vol. 72, No. 3
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.3.1715-1724.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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