Contribution of the Multidrug Efflux Transporter CmeABC to Antibiotic Resistance in Different Campylobacter Species

CmeABC, a multidrug efflux system in Campylobacter jejuni, plays an important role in the resistance to different antimicrobials and toxic compounds. Although this efflux system has been well characterized in C. jejuni and to a less extent in C. coli, it is unknown if CmeABC homologs are functional in other Campylobacter spp. In this study, the cmeABC homologs were identified and functionally characterized in five Campylobacter species including C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, C. upsaliensis, and C. fetus. Our results indicated that cmeABC is present in all five Campylobacter spp. and the genomic organization of this efflux operon is similar among the Campylobacter spp. Insertional mutagenesis of cmeB increased the susceptibilities of all the five Campylobacter spp. to structurally diverse antimicrobials. Together, these results indicated that the CmeABC efflux system is conserved at both the genomic and functional levels in all five Campylobacter spp. examined in this study, further highlighting the significant role of CmeABC in Campylobacter pathobiology.