The Campylobacter jejuni cell membrane protects against the bactericidal activity of human milk

Campylobacter jejuni is a common foodborne pathogen worldwide that is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality among infants in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs). Human milk provides infants with an important source of nutrients and also contains antimicrobial components for protection against infection. However, recent studies have found significantly higher levels of Campylobacter in diarrheal stool samples collected from breastfed infants compared to non-breastfed infants in LMICs. We hypothesized that C. jejuni may have unique strategies to resist human milk's antimicrobial properties. Transcriptional profiling was conducted on C. jejuni strains 81-176 and 11168 in human milk and compared to those cultured in MH broth.