Influence on Growth and Physiology of Campylobacter jejuni Under Simulated Microgravity.
- 1Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77340, USA.
Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of gastrointestinal infections worldwide and commonly transmitted through the ingestion of undercooked, contaminated meat. Despite the extensive knowledge of pathogenic bacterium's behavior on the Earth, there is no study with C. jejuni under spaceflight conditions. This study examines the influence of simulated microgravity on the growth, cell length, and virulence gene expression of C. jejuni. Microbial cultures were maintained under simulated microgravity using a Rotary Cell Culture System and compared with cultures grown under normal gravity conditions. No significant differences in bacterial growth were observed under simulated microgravity compared with normal gravity after 48 and 72 h of incubation. Cell length was shorter in both simulated microgravity and normal gravity (Falcon tubes) cultures than in the normal gravity (HARV) control, although differences were not significant based on mean cell-length values from biological replicates using a paired t-test. In contrast, mixed-effects analysis of individual cell-length measurements revealed significant differences between simulated microgravity and the normal gravity HARV control and between the normal gravity (Falcon tubes) and normal gravity (HARV) control conditions. Gene expression analysis using quantitative PCR was performed on selected virulence genes (cadF, ciaB, cdtA, luxS, and flaA) associated with adhesion, invasion, toxin production, quorum sensing, metabolism, and motility. This study found no significant differences in gene expression under simulated microgravity compared to normal gravity for the selected genes. Results indicated the limited influence of microgravity on Campylobacter physiology, but further investigation utilizing whole-genome transcriptomic and proteomic analyses is warranted to gain a deeper understanding.
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BibTeX
@article{garces2026influence,
title = {{Influence on Growth and Physiology of Campylobacter jejuni Under Simulated Microgravity.}},
author = {Roberta Garces and Alexis Ho and Madhusudan Choudhary and Todd P Primm and Sofiane Gana and Anand B Karki},
journal = {Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/pathogens15101028},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931179},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Influence on Growth and Physiology of Campylobacter jejuni Under Simulated Microgravity.
AU - Roberta Garces
AU - Alexis Ho
AU - Madhusudan Choudhary
AU - Todd P Primm
AU - Sofiane Gana
AU - Anand B Karki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/pathogens15101028
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931179
AB - Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of gastrointestinal infections worldwide and commonly transmitted through the ingestion of undercooked, contaminated meat. Despite the extensive knowledge of pathogenic bacterium's behavior on the Earth, there is no study with C. jejuni under spaceflight conditions. This study examines the influence of simulated microgravity on the growth, cell length, and virulence gene expression of C. jejuni. Microbial cultures were maintained under simulated microgravity using a Rotary Cell Culture System and compared with cultures grown under normal gravity conditions. No significant differences in bacterial growth were observed under simulated microgravity compared with normal gravity after 48 and 72 h of incubation. Cell length was shorter in both simulated microgravity and normal gravity (Falcon tubes) cultures than in the normal gravity (HARV) control, although differences were not significant based on mean cell-length values from biological replicates using a paired t-test. In contrast, mixed-effects analysis of individual cell-length measurements revealed significant differences between simulated microgravity and the normal gravity HARV control and between the normal gravity (Falcon tubes) and normal gravity (HARV) control conditions. Gene expression analysis using quantitative PCR was performed on selected virulence genes (cadF, ciaB, cdtA, luxS, and flaA) associated with adhesion, invasion, toxin production, quorum sensing, metabolism, and motility. This study found no significant differences in gene expression under simulated microgravity compared to normal gravity for the selected genes. Results indicated the limited influence of microgravity on Campylobacter physiology, but further investigation utilizing whole-genome transcriptomic and proteomic analyses is warranted to gain a deeper understanding.
SN - 2076-0817
ER -