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Culture Methods to Determine the Limit of Detection and Survival in Transport Media of Campylobacter Jejuni in Human Fecal Specimens
08:23

Culture Methods to Determine the Limit of Detection and Survival in Transport Media of Campylobacter Jejuni in Human Fecal Specimens

Published on: March 10, 2020

Fitness cost of macrolide resistance in Campylobacter jejuni

Feifei Han1, Shuaihua Pu, Fei Wang

  • 1Department of Food Science, 111 Food Science Building, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.

International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
|August 5, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Macrolide resistance in Campylobacter jejuni causes slower growth but does not affect chilling tolerance. This suggests resistant bacteria may still persist in poultry products despite a fitness cost.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Food Safety
  • Antimicrobial Resistance

Background:

  • Macrolide resistance is increasing in Campylobacter jejuni.
  • The biological cost of macrolide resistance in C. jejuni is not well understood.
  • Understanding fitness costs is crucial for predicting the spread of resistant bacteria.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the fitness cost associated with macrolide resistance in Campylobacter jejuni.
  • To compare the growth rates and survival of resistant and susceptible C. jejuni strains.
  • To assess the impact of macrolide resistance on the tolerance of C. jejuni to chilling processes in poultry.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative growth assays (non-competitive and pair-wise competitive).
  • Assessment of tolerance to chilling treatment simulating poultry processing.
  • Determination of bacterial doubling times and survival ratios.

Main Results:

  • Macrolide-resistant C. jejuni mutants exhibited significantly slower growth rates (136 min doubling time) compared to the susceptible parent strain (112 min).
  • Mutants showed a lower survival ratio in competitive growth experiments, indicating a fitness cost.
  • No significant difference was observed in the ability of resistant and susceptible strains to tolerate chilling treatment.

Conclusions:

  • Macrolide resistance imposes a discernible fitness cost on Campylobacter jejuni.
  • Despite the fitness cost, macrolide-resistant C. jejuni strains demonstrate resilience to chilling, potentially aiding their persistence in poultry products.
  • The ability to withstand processing conditions may mitigate the fitness disadvantage of macrolide resistance in food environments.

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