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Substrate Utilisation and Energy Metabolism in Non-Growing Campylobacter jejuni M1cam.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Stoakes, Emily 
Savva, George M 
Coates, Ruby 

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni, the major cause of bacterial foodborne illness, is also a fastidious organism that requires strict growth requirements in the laboratory. Our aim was to study substrate utilisation and energy metabolism in non-growing C. jejuni to investigate the ability of these bacteria to survive so effectively in the food chain. We integrated phenotypic microarrays and genome-scale metabolic modelling (GSM) to investigate the survival of C. jejuni on 95 substrates. We further investigated the underlying metabolic re-adjustment associated with varying energy demands on each substrate. We identified amino acids, organic acids and H2, as single substrates supporting survival without growth. We identified several different mechanisms, which were used alone or in combination, for ATP production: substrate-level phosphorylation via acetate kinase, the TCA cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation via the electron transport chain that utilised alternative electron donors and acceptors. The benefit of ATP production through each of these mechanisms was associated with the cost of enzyme investment, nutrient availability and/or O2 utilisation. C. jejuni can utilise a wide range of substrates as energy sources, including organic acids commonly used for marination or preservation of ingredients, which might contribute to the success of their survival in changing environments.

Description

Keywords

Campylobacter jejuni, cell survival, energy metabolism, metabolic network, substrate utilisation

Journal Title

Microorganisms

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2076-2607
2076-2607

Volume Title

10

Publisher

MDPI AG
Sponsorship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBS/E/F/000PR10349, BB/R012504/1)