ABSTRACT
The outer membrane of a Gram-negative cell and other cellular structures that are located in contact with its external surface serve as the interface between the bacterium and its surrounding milieu. In the case of pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni and its thermophilic relatives, this environment can be an animal, bird or human gut, human tissue cells and fluids, it can be fresh water in a stream, milk, or even the skin on a chicken carcass. In pathogenic bacteria the outer membrane plays an important role in the outcome of host-parasite relationships. During growth, Campylobacters release sizeable quantities of outer membrane. These blebs arise when the outer membrane expands at a greater rate than the underlying peptidogly can layer, and so areas not attached to the underlying peptidoglycan will tend to bulge and grow until released. The antigenicity of components of the surface of the Campylobacter fetus cell has received much more attention than Campylobacter jejuni and its thermophilic relatives.
