Impaired Fitness and Transmission of Macrolide-Resistant Campylobacter jejuni in Its Natural Host

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2012-03-01
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Luangtongkum, Taradon
Shen, Zhangqi
Seng, Virginia
Sahin, Orhan
Jeon, Byeonghwa
Liu, Peng
Zhang, Qijing
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Zhang, Qijing
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Statistics
As leaders in statistical research, collaboration, and education, the Department of Statistics at Iowa State University offers students an education like no other. We are committed to our mission of developing and applying statistical methods, and proud of our award-winning students and faculty.
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Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine
Our faculty promote the understanding of causes of infectious disease in animals and the mechanisms by which diseases develop at the organismal, cellular and molecular levels. Veterinary microbiology also includes research on the interaction of pathogenic and symbiotic microbes with their hosts and the host response to infection.
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StatisticsVeterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine
Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni is a major zoonotic pathogen transmitted to humans via the food chain and is prevalent in chickens, a natural reservoir for this pathogenic organism. Due to the importance of macrolide antibiotics in clinical therapy of human campylobacteriosis, development of macrolide resistance in Campylobacter has become a concern for public health. To facilitate the control of macrolide-resistant Campylobacter, it is necessary to understand if macrolide resistance affects the fitness and transmission of Campylobacter in its natural host. In this study we conducted pairwise competitions and comingling experiments in chickens using clonally related and isogenic C. jejuni strains, which are either susceptible or resistant to erythromycin (Ery). In every competition pair, Ery-resistant (Eryr) Campylobacter was consistently outcompeted by the Ery-susceptible (Erys) strain. In the comingling experiments, Eryr Campylobacter failed to transmit to chickens precolonized by Erys Campylobacter, while isogenic Erys Campylobacter was able to transmit to and establish dominance in chickens precolonized by Eryr Campylobacter. The fitness disadvantage was linked to the resistance-conferring mutations in the 23S rRNA. These findings clearly indicate that acquisition of macrolide resistance impairs the fitness and transmission of Campylobacter in chickens, suggesting that the prevalence of macrolide-resistant C. jejuni will likely decrease in the absence of antibiotic selection pressure.

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This article is published as Luangtongkum, Taradon, Zhangqi Shen, Virginia W. Seng, Orhan Sahin, Byeonghwa Jeon, Peng Liu, and Qijing Zhang. "Impaired fitness and transmission of macrolide-resistant Campylobacter jejuni in its natural host." Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 56, no. 3 (2012): 1300-1308. doi: 10.1128/AAC.05516-11. Posted with permission.

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Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2012
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