Revisiting Campylobacter jejuni Virulence and Fitness Factors: Role in Sensing, Adapting, and Competing

Abstract

<i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> is the leading cause of bacterial foodborne gastroenteritis world wide and represents a major public health concern. Over the past two decades, significant progress in functional genomics, proteomics, enzymatic-based virulence profiling (EBVP), and the cellular biology of <i>C. jejuni</i> have improved our basic understanding of this important pathogen. We review key advances in our understanding of the multitude of emerging virulence factors that influence the outcome of <i>C. jejuni</i>-mediated infections. We highlight, the spatial and temporal dynamics of factors that promote <i>C. jejuni</i> to sense, adapt and survive in multiple hosts. Finally, we propose cohesive research directions to obtain a comprehensive understanding of <i>C. jejuni</i> virulence mechanisms.