Poster Presentation BACPATH 2022

Campylobacter concisus flagellin: In silico modelling, structural analysis, and motility (#176)

Syeda Umme Habiba Wahid 1 , Robert Moore 1 , Taghrid Istivan 1
  1. Biology; School of Science, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

Campylobacter concisus is an oral cavity colonising bacterium and an opportunistic emerging pathogen associated with a broad range of human diseases, including gingivitis and periodontitis, acute and chronic gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, and gastrointestinal tract cancers. Motility and flagellum glycosylation are known to be essential for the pathogen's attachment to the host cells. In this study, C. concisus motility was assessed using a swarming motility assay and differential dynamic microscopy (DDM).  Interestingly, an oral strain isolated from a healthy child, showed a greater diffusive motility, and invasion capability than all other tested C. concisus strains. Furthermore, the study examined the presence of glycopeptides in C. concisus flagellin using nanoLC ESI MS/MS and Proteome Discoverer (Thermo). Our data showed that C. concisus modifies its flagellin with glycopeptides. Detailed bioinformatic analysis also revealed that this hydrogen-requiring bacterium, unlike the closely related human gastrointestinal pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, harbours only one unique gene encoding the flagellum filament protein, as do other hydrogen-requiring Campylobacter species. Here we also present the predicted 3D homology model of C. concisus flagellin (CcFla), using bio-computational tools. CcFla is constituted of four domains (D0, D1, D2 and D3) and is folded similarly to other Gram-negative bacterial flagellins. Using the DALI server to compare the CcFla 3D model with other structural homologues, in the PDB database, allowed us to identify the crucial features of the flagellin structure. Data from this study also revealed additional underlying structural features which could be important for the development of the host’s immune response and cross-reactivity with flagellins of other related Campylobacter species strains. Therefore, highlighting the distinctive flagellar structure in this bacterium and its potential role in colonisation and virulence.