Comparative genomic analysis of Campylobacter jejuni strains reveals diversity due to genomic elements similar to those present in C-jejuni strain RM1221

Analysis of the complete genomic sequence of Campylobacter jejuni strain RM1221 identified four large genomic elements, Campylobacter jejuni-integrated elements (CJIEs), that were absent from C. jejuni strain NCTC 11168. To further investigate the genomic diversity of Campylobacter, we conducted a comparative genomic analysis from a collection of 67 C. jejuni and 12 Campylobacter coli strains isolated from various geographical locations and clinical and veterinary sources. Utilizing PCR, we demonstrated that 55% of the C. jejuni strains examined were positive for at least one RM1221-like genomic element and 27% were positive for two or more of these QJIEs. Furthermore, many C. coli strains were positive for either genomic element QJIE1 or QJIE3. To simultaneously assess for the presence or absence of several genes that comprise the various QJIEs, we developed a multistrain C. jejuni DNA microarray that contained most of the putative coding sequences for strains NCTC 11168 and RM1221. A comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis of 35 of the 67 C. jejuni strains confirmed the presence of genomic elements similar to those in strain RM1221. Interestingly, the DNA microarray analysis demonstrated that these genomic elements in the other C. Jejuni strains often exhibited modular patterns with some regions of the QIEs present and other regions either absent or highly divergent compared to strain RM1221. Our CGH method also identified 18 other intraspecies hypervariable regions, such as the capsule and lipooligosaccharide biosynthesis regions. Thus, the inclusion of genes from these integrated genomic elements and the genes from the other intraspecies hypervariable regions contributes to a better assessment of the diversity in C. jejuni and may increase the usefulness of DNA microarrays as an epidemiological genotyping tool. Finally, we also showed that in QJIE1, a Campylobacter Mu-like phage, is located differentially in other strains of C. jejuni, suggesting that it may integrate essentially randomly.