Genome mapping of Arcobacter butzleri

A genome map of the potential food-poisoning pathogen Arcobacter butzleri, strain NCTC 12481, has been constructed. The map was ordered by a combination of one- and two-dimensional pulsed field gel electrophoresis, using the restriction enzymes EagI, SacII, SalI and XhoI, and Southern hybridization with digoxygenin-labelled probes. The size of the genome was estimated at 2.57+/-0.01 Mb; this is 0.9 Mb larger than the genome of the closely related species Campylobacter jejuni. We deduce that there are five copies of the 23S and 16S rRNA genes present in the A. butzleri NCTC 12481 genome and two copies of the gene glyA. A gene homologous to pglF, involved in bacterial glycosylation in C. jejuni, was also located on the genome map. In C. jejuni and Wolinella succinogenes, most glycosylation genes are clustered together and the gene order is similar. In A. butzleri NCTC 12481, no analogous organization was found in the region sequenced.