| Summary: | The genetic diversity of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from commercial broiler farms was examined by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), with an assessment of the impact of sample type and laboratory method on the genotypes of Campylobacter isolated. A total of 645 C. jejuni and 106 C. coli isolates were obtained from 32 flocks and 17 farms, with 47 sequence types (STs) identified. The Campylobacter jejuni isolates obtained by different sampling approaches and laboratory methods were very similar, identifying the same STs at similar frequencies, and had no major effect on the genetic profile of Campylobacter population in broiler flocks at farm level. For C. coli the results are more equivocal. While some STs were widely distributed within and among farms and flocks, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed a high degree of genetic diversity among farms for C. jejuni where farm effects accounted for 70.5% of variance and among flocks from the same farm (9.9% of variance for C. jejuni and 64.1% for C. coli). These results show the complexity of the population structure of Campylobacter in broiler production and that commercial broiler farms provide an ecological niche for a wide diversity of genotypes. The genetic diversity of C. jejuni isolates among broiler farms should be taken into account when designing studies to understand Campylobacter populations in broiler production and the impact of interventions. We provide evidence that supports synthesis of studies on C. jejuni populations even when laboratory and sampling methods are not identical.
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