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Two Species of Campylobacter May Merge

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

Scientists from Oxford University believe that two species of the Campylobacter genus may be merging into one.  Campylobacter are found primarily in the gut of birds, especially poultry. Estimates indicate that nearly half of all chicken meat in the U.S. has some of the bacteria on it. In some instances, the bacteria can lead to disease in humans, called camplyobacteriosis. 99% of campylobacteriosis is caused by the species Campylobacter jejuni. The researchers discovered that C. jejuni may well form a new species by combining with Campylobacter coli.

According to Fox News,

"What we're seeing here is hybridization, and it's only been recently acknowledged as an important part of evolution," said Samuel Sheppard, an evolutionary microbiologist at Oxford University in England. "It's really exciting stuff."

The scientists think that C. jejuni and C. coli evolved from a common ancestor due to some external influences in the past.  As of now, the bacteria share about 85% of the same genetic material.  The two species, however, are beginning to meet again and have started mating.  The scientists claim that human involvement is responsible for the phenomenon, with the ever increasing growth of the poultry industry.

According to their theory, the scientists think that overcrowded poultry farms have led to a drastic environmental change for the bacteria. Chickens tend to eat other chickens’ feces, spreading the bacteria from one bird to another.  The conditions increase the chance that C. jejuni and C. coli will meet.

Sheppard explained that bacteria try and most often fail to trade genes, but when two descendants from the same parent meet and then mate, he said, the chance of successfully trading genes gets a big boost.

He couldn't say when the two life forms might finally merge, but thinks evolutionary pressures created by humans will surely speed things up. (Fox News)

The scientists have not posed a theory about how a possible combination of the two Campylobacter species will affect disease in humans or the spread of foodborne illness.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on April 18, 2008 (boomark / email).