Subtyping of Campylobacter jejuni Penner heat-stable (HS) serotype 11 isolates from human infections

High resolution molecular subtyping was applied to Campylobacter jejuni Penner heat-stable (HS) 11 isolates from human infections and other sources. Strains were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis involving PCR-based flagellin gene (flaA) profiling with HinfI and DdeI, and pulsed-field gel electrophoretic (PFGE) profiling with SmaI and KpnI. Fla-genes of the strains were highly conserved as most (95%) had the same fla-profile. PFGE analysis of SmaI digests was more discriminatory with 15 profile subtypes identified, although 36% of isolates had a common profile. The study showed that strains of C. jejuni HS11, unlike those of HS1 and the HS4 complex, were relatively homogeneous at the genomic level and that high resolution molecular techniques were essential for detailed epidemiological subtyping.