Rank: Species
Lineage: Bacteria;delta/epsilon subdivisions;Epsilonproteobacteria;Campylobacterales;Campylobacteraceae;Campylobacter;Campylobacter coli
Description: This organism, similar to what is observed with Campylobacter jejuni, is also a leading cause of food-borne illnesses worldwide. The organism infects the gastrointestinal tract of a variety of animals and causes diarrhea and potentially septicemia. This bacterium colonizes the intestinal epithelium, and disrupts the epithelial layer. The bacteria are enteroinvasive and cross into the bloodstream from the intestinal epithelium where they can spread into the bloodstream. A number of virulence determinants are produced by the bacterial cell, one of which is cytolethal-distending toxin (CDT), a multisubunit protein which causes cell death by directly causing DNA damage which leads to blocks in cell cycle checkpoints.
Reference Material:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/?term=Campylobacter%20coli
