Abstract

The present study was designed for a phylogenetic tree analysis of Campylobacter species as molecular method for genetic identification of Campylobacter jejuni from human and birds sources and birds and amplified by polymerase chain reaction assay using specific primers for 16S rRNA gene of Campylobacter jejuni (GenBank: EF136575.1). In this study, the multiple sequence alignment analysis and neighbor joining phylogenetic tree analysis was performed by using Unweight Pair Group method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA tree) in MEGA 6.0 version that analyzes 827 bp for ribosomal 16S rRNA gene. C. jejuni was detected in 40% (16/40) of stool samples collected from patients suffering from gastroenteritis, while detection rates of C. jejuni were 15% (3 /20) and 10% (2/20) of fecal samples of domestic chicken and pigeon respectively by PCR assay. The phylogenetic analysis results revealed that all local isolates of Campylobacter spp. were closed related to NCBI-Blast C. jejuni strain No.Y19244.1, whereas other NCBI-Blast Campylobacter spp. were out of tree and more different to ten Campylobacter spp. Iraq  isolates and also found the relationships between the local isolates of Campylobacter spp. (Human, Domestic chicken, and Pigeon). This study represents the first report on the use of molecular phylogeny to Campylobacter spp. obtained in Iraq and confirmed the zoonotic potential of C. jejuni.

Key words: Phylogenetic tree, Campylobacter species, 16S ribosomal gene, human, birds, Iraq.