Molecular characterization of Campylobacter Mu like phage

Food borne pathogen Campylobacter is the primary source of human gastroenteritis, effecting annually hundreds of millions globally. Mu-like phage in Campylobacter host not only offers new genetic material to evolve, but also provides opportunity to do comparative functional analysis and transpositional studies to better understand Mu-like phage and its' possible roles in virulence and pathogen evolution. The focus of this research is to identify Mu like phage in Campylobacter species and induce Mu like phage production for comparative analyses. Here 233 Campylobacter strains representing 13 species were screened for Mu transposase A by PCR. Ninety-four Campylobacter strains were identified for screening. Induction of cell lysis was seen in 14 of 69 strains tested for cell lysis with 2 of strains capable of producing viable plaque forming units, C.coli strain RM1898 and C. jejuni strain RM4275. DNA sequence analysis of plaque forming strains revealed homology with C. jejuni RM1221 CMLP1 genes and transmission electron microscopy visualized putative novel phage and phage particles.