Date of Award
2011
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Program
Microbiology and Immunology
Supervisor
Dr. Carole Creuzenet
Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of gastroenteritis.Infections are endemic in developing countries and the emergence of antibiotic resistant isolates in developed countries underline the requirement for new therapeutic targets.
C. jejuni possesses a capsule, which is important in conferring virulence. The capsule of some C.jejuni species contains unusual modified heptoses. The genes cjl427c, cj1428c and cj1430c putatively encode enzymes involved in modifying heptose. We hypothesize that modified heptoses play a role in virulence in host-
pathogen interactions, and have constructed and phenotypically characterized a
. X ■'
cjl427::CAT disruption mutant to complete our panel of mutants. Complementation of the mutants was conducted to ensure that the observed phenotypes are gene specific.
The capsular composition of our mutants has been elucidated via NMR, allowing us to correlate capsular structure and the observed phenotypes.
This work will lead to a better understanding of the role of modified heptoses in host-pathogen interactions.
Recommended Citation
Wong, Anthony, "Modified heptose synthesis in the Campylobacter jejuni capsule and its involvement in virulence" (2011). Digitized Theses. 3419.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/3419