Viruses 2018, 10(6), 332; https://doi.org/10.3390/v10060332
Transcriptomic Analysis of the Campylobacter jejuni Response to T4-Like Phage NCTC 12673 Infection
Jessica C. Sacher 1,*
, Annika Flint 2, James Butcher 2, Bob Blasdel 3, Hayley M. Reynolds 4, Rob Lavigne 3, Alain Stintzi 2 and Christine M. Szymanski 1,4
, Annika Flint 2, James Butcher 2, Bob Blasdel 3, Hayley M. Reynolds 4, Rob Lavigne 3, Alain Stintzi 2 and Christine M. Szymanski 1,41
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada
2
Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
3
Laboratory of Gene Technology, Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, Leuven 3001, Belgium
4
Department of Microbiology and Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 24 May 2018 / Revised: 13 June 2018 / Accepted: 13 June 2018 / Published: 16 June 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phage-Host Interactions)
Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni is a frequent foodborne pathogen of humans. As C. jejuni infections commonly arise from contaminated poultry, phage treatments have been proposed to reduce the C. jejuni load on farms to prevent human infections. While a prior report documented the transcriptome of C. jejuni phages during the carrier state life cycle, transcriptomic analysis of a lytic C. jejuni phage infection has not been reported. We used RNA-sequencing to profile the infection of C. jejuni NCTC 11168 by the lytic T4-like myovirus NCTC 12673. Interestingly, we found that the most highly upregulated host genes upon infection make up an uncharacterized operon (cj0423–cj0425), which includes genes with similarity to T4 superinfection exclusion and antitoxin genes. Other significantly upregulated genes include those involved in oxidative stress defense and the Campylobactermultidrug efflux pump (CmeABC). We found that phage infectivity is altered by mutagenesis of the oxidative stress defense genes catalase (katA), alkyl-hydroxyperoxidase (ahpC), and superoxide dismutase (sodB), and by mutagenesis of the efflux pump genes cmeA and cmeB. This suggests a role for these gene products in phage infection. Together, our results shed light on the phage-host dynamics of an important foodborne pathogen during lytic infection by a T4-like phage. View Full-TextKeywords:
Campylobacter jejuni; bacteriophage; NCTC 12673; transcriptome; phage defense
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Sacher, J.C.; Flint, A.; Butcher, J.; Blasdel, B.; Reynolds, H.M.; Lavigne, R.; Stintzi, A.; Szymanski, C.M. Transcriptomic Analysis of the Campylobacter jejuni Response to T4-Like Phage NCTC 12673 Infection. Viruses 2018, 10, 332.
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