Pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase in Campylobacter species

Twelve strains representing 11 Campylobacter species were tested by two methods to see whether pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, which occurs mainly in anaerobes, was also present in these oxygen-respiring microaerophiles. Crude extracts exhibited a pyruvate-dependent reduction of benzyl viologen and, to a lesser extent, metronidazole. Addition of Clostridium pasteurianum ferredoxin enhanced the metronidazole-reducing activity. All strains were inhibited by metronidazole, with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging from 3 to 25 mu g/mL. The results suggest that pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase is characteristic of the genus.