Correlation between phenotypes of restriction / modification systems and efficiency of transformation in Campylobacter jejuni

Masaaki  Minami; Takafumi  Ando; Michio  Ohta; Hidemi  Goto

doi:10.30574/gscbps.2021.17.1.0315

Authors

Masaaki Minami Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University, Graduate School of Medical sciences, Nagoya, Japan.
Takafumi Ando Department of Gastroenterology, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Michio Ohta Department of Molecular Bacteriology, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Hidemi Goto Department of Gastroenterology, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30574/gscbps.2021.17.1.0315

Keywords:

Campylobacter jejuni, Transformation efficacy, Restriction modification, Horizontal gene transfer, Natural competent

Abstract

We evaluated the effect of restriction and modification genes expressed in Campylobacter jejuni, a naturally competent organism, on transformation efficiency. Fourteen strains of C. jejuni were tested for sensitivity to 29 restriction enzymes. Strains that showed the same susceptibility pattern by either agarose gel electrophoresis or PFGE were grouped together. Natural transformation between strains within and between groups was assessed using two chromosomal markers, one an artificially introduced gene and the other a selected point mutation. However, no correlation was found between transformation efficiency and sensitivity to the restriction enzymes tested. The activity of the restriction and modification system alone could not explain the failure of transformation to occur or the generation of stable clones in a population of C. jejuni with other abilities. It is likely that other factors influence horizontal gene flow in this organism. We suggested that the rule that the restriction and modification system affect horizontal gene flow, based on studies of transfection with E. coli, may not apply to the exchange of chromosomal DNA in C. jejuni.

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