Because proteins homologous to Cj0596 are involved in virulence in other pathogenic bacteria, we nevertheless characterized the role of this protein in C. jejuni physiology and pathogenesis. Similarity of cj0596 sequences among Campylobacter species Because Campylobacter genomes are quite diverse [60, 61], we characterized the conservation of the cj0596 gene in other Campylobacter strains. Using PCR primers designed from the C. jejuni NCTC 11168 genomic sequence and located in the cj0595 and cj0597 genes (Figure 2), we amplified a 2 kb segment encompassing the cj0596 locus from five additional

C. jejuni strains and one C. coli strain. PCR products of the expected size were obtained from each strain, and were subsequently selleck sequenced (total of 4000 bp sequence analyzed for each strain). A search of 17 additional Campylobacter genome sequences (Table 1) was also performed and showed that a cj0596 ortholog was found in every strain. The sequences of these orthologs

were also included in the sequence comparison analysis. The nucleotide sequences between pairs of C. jejuni strains or C. coli D3088 were at least 98% identical. The corresponding sequences from C. coli RM2228 and other Campylobacter species were somewhat lower (84% to 60% identical). The ��-Nicotinamide predicted Cj0596 protein was also highly similar in all C. jejuni strains and C. coli D3088, with an amino acid sequence identity of at least 99%. As with the nucleotide sequences, the degree of identity of proteins from C. coli RM2228 and other non-jejuni Campylobacter strains was lower, with identities ranging from 87% to 45%. Together, these results indicate see more that cj0596 is highly conserved in C. jejuni (16 strains), C. coli (two strains), and one strain each of C. concisus, C. curvus, C. fetus, C. hominis, C. lari, and C. upsaliensis. We focused on Cj0596 from C. jejuni strain 81–176 (the strain 81–176 designation is CJJ81176_0624) for our subsequent work. Figure 2 Construction of a cj0596 mutant

in C. jejuni 81–176. The location of the replacement of Alectinib the cj0596 gene by the rpsL HP /cat construct is shown. Solid arrows represent PCR primers used to amplify the cj0596 region during mutant construction and verification, and for interstrain comparative DNA sequencing. In silico analysis of Cj0596 protein features In the NCTC 11168 genome, the predicted Cj0596 protein had a predicted molecular mass of 30.5 kDa and pI of 9.9 and was annotated as a major antigenic peptide PEB4\cell binding factor 2, similar to peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerases found in a variety of organisms [62]. Because some peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases are located in the periplasm, the SignalP algorithm [48, 63] was used to analyze the 81–176 Cj0596 protein for the presence of an N-terminal signal sequence. A signal sequence with a probable cleavage site between amino acids 21 and 22 of the preprotein (VNA↓AT) was predicted.