Chicken juice enhances surface attachment and biofilm formation of Campylobacter jejuni.

 C. jejuni was both able to grow and form biofilms in static cultures in aerobic conditions.

The bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is acquired via the consumption of contaminated foodstuffs, especially poultry meat. In food processing environments, C. jejuni is required to survive a multitude of stresses and requires the use of specific survival mechanisms, such as biofilms.

An initial step in biofilm formation is bacterial attachment to a surface. Here, we investigated the effects of a chicken meat exudate (chicken juice) on C. jejuni attachment to surfaces and biofilm formation.

Supplementation of Brucella broth with >5% chicken juice resulted in increased biofilm formation on glass, polystyrene, and stainless steel surfaces with four C. jejuni isolates and one C. coli isolate in both microaerobic and aerobic conditions.

When incubated with chicken juice, C. jejuni was both able to grow and form biofilms in static cultures in aerobic conditions.

Electron microscopy showed that C. jejuni cells were associated with chicken juice particulates attached to the abiotic surface rather than the surface itself. This suggests that chicken juice contributes to biofilm formation in C. jejuni by covering and conditioning the abiotic surface and is a source of nutrients.

Chicken juice was able to complement the reduction in biofilm formation of an aflagellated mutant of C. jejuni, indicating that chicken juice may support food chain transmission of isolates with lowered motility.

We provide here a useful model for studying the interaction of C. jejuni biofilms in food chain-relevant conditions and show a possible attachment mechanism for C. jejuni cells and biofilm initiation on abiotic surfaces within the food chain.

Source: Helen L. Brown, et als. http://aem.asm.org/content/80/22/7053.full.pdf+html