Campylobacter sp. Genome sequencing

Campylobacteriosis is a zoonosis of worldwide distribution with significant repercussions at the level of Public Health and with a high socio-economic impact. Considering that Brazil is the largest exporter of poultry meat in the world, and that the most important potential transmission routes of Campylobacter coli to humans are considered to be the consumption and handling of improperly prepared poultry meat, campylobacteriosis has been a neglected disease and there is insufficient data to estimate the incidence of this pathogen in this country. This project aims to perform whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of C. coli strains isolated over a 16-year period in Brazil. For this, we will study 63 C. coli strains isolated from humans (12), animals (21), the environment (20) and food (10) from some cities in Brazil between 1995-2011. The comparative analysis of the whole genome sequences of the C. coli strains to be studied will provide important data on genetic variation, including: differences in gene content; and differences in insertions, deletions and/or point mutations that might affect the expression and/or regulation of specific genes. Moreover, these analyses may help to elucidate possible mechanisms that influence public health outcomes through effects on pathogenicity/virulence and survival along the poultry chain in C. coli strains. Together, the results obtained will contribute to a better understanding of C. coli, as well as will provide information about the strains circulating in our country.