CP220 bacteriophages attacking bacterium, illustration

CP220 bacteriophages attacking a Campylobacter jejuni bacterium, illustration. This is the Campylobactergenus-specific phage CP220, a DNA virus that is specialized in attacking the Campylobacter bacterium. The bacteriophage has an icosahedral head and a contractile tail. As it infects a cell, the bacteriophage can either engage in lysogeny or enter a lytic cycle. In lysogeny the genome remains dormant in the cell as an autonomous plasmid (circle of DNA). In the lytic cycle the bacteriophage replicates itself many times and then bursts the bacterial cell, releasing itself into the environment. This virus has been tested in laboratory to attack Campylobacter bacteria resistant to antibiotics and responsible for human enteric disease worldwide. CP220 bacteriophages can be recovered from the intestines of poultry.