Campylobacter jejuni strain:RM1285 Genome sequencing and assembly

Campylobacter spp. are responsible for the largest number of foodborne gastrointestinal bacterial infections in the developed world. The majority of these human cases of campylobacteriosis are cause by the species Campylobacter jejuni. Poultry products are a primary environmental pathway by which C. jejuni are introduced into the food supply. However, C. jejuni are nutritionally fastidious micro-anaerobes making them unlikely candidates to persist in the environment in sufficient numbers to cause such a large amount of human disease. In this study we fully sequenced and annotated C. jejuni strain RM1285 an environmental isolate from chicken that has revealed unique characteristics. Morphologically, RM1285 is rod shaped compared to the spiral form most common to other C. jejuni strains. Additionally, strain RM1285 has demonstrated increased resistance to inactivation by high hydrostatic pressure compared to other C. jejuni strains.