CAMPYLOBACTER IS A MAJOR BACTERIAL PATHOGEN AND ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS IN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI AND CAMPYLOBACTER COLI ARE THE TWO MAIN SPECIES OF CONCERN TO HUMAN HEALTH AND CAUSE APPROXIMATELY 95% OF HUMAN INFECTIONS. CAMPYLOBACTER IS KNOWN TO BE HIGHLY PREVALENT IN VARIOUS RETAIL MEATS PARTICULARLY POULTRY WHICH MAKES IT A HIGH FOOD SAFETY RISK TO CONSUMERS. CAMPYLOBACTER IS A MICROAEROPHILIC BACTERIUM WHICH GROWS ONLY UNDER LOW OXYGEN CONCENTRATIONS AND SHOULD NOT SURVIVE AT NORMAL ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN LEVELS. UNFORTUNATELY, AEROTOLERANCE OF THE MICROAEROPHILIC SPECIES CAMPYLOBACTER WAS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED WHICH COULD INCREASE BACTERIAL SURVIVAL AND TRANSMISSION IN FOODS DURING STRESSFUL PROCESSING AND STORAGE CONDITIONS. AEROTOLERANCY IS BELIEVED TO INCREASE THE SURVIVAL OF CAMPYLOBACTER IN RETAIL MEATS AND SURFACES AND HENCE INCREASE THE FOOD SAFETY RISK OF THIS IMPORTANT FOODBORNE BACTERIAL PATHOGEN. RECENT PUBLISHED WORK FROM OUR LABORATORY REVEALED THAT APPROXIMATELY 47% OF THE SCREENED CAMPYLOBACTER ISOLATES FROM RETAIL MEATS WERE AEROTOLERANT, WHEREAS 24% WERE HYPER-AEROTOLERANT WHICH IS VERY ALARMING. VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW A BACTERIAL PATHOGEN LIKE CAMPYLOBACTER WHICH IS MICROAEROPHILIC CAN SURVIVE UNDER AEROBIC CONDITIONS WITH NORMAL ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN CONCENTRATIONS. WHILE CAMPYLOBACTER IS KNOWN TO HARBOR GENES INVOLVED IN TOLERANCE TO OXIDATIVE STRESS, GENES SPECIFIC FOR CAMPYLOBACTER AEROTOLERANCE DURING SURVIVAL UNDER AEROBIC CONDITIONS ARE YET TO BE IDENTIFIED. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS TWO-YEAR SEED GRANT PROPOSAL IS TO CONDUCT TRANSCRIPTOMIC ANALYSIS USING RNA-SEQ ILLUMINA TECHNOLOGY OF THE SURVIVAL UNDER AEROBIC CONDITIONS VERSUS MICROAEROBIC CONDITIONS OF SIX CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI AND CAMPYLOBACTER COLI STRAINS PREVIOUSLY ISOLATED FROM RETAIL MEATS AND SEQUENCED IN OUR LABORATORY. THIS NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY WILL ENABLE US TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL GENES INVOLVED IN THE AEROTOLERANCY OF THIS IMPORTANT FOODBORNE BACTERIAL PATHOGEN. IDENTIFYING THOSE GENES WILL ENABLE US TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE PATHWAYS THIS FOODBORNE PATHOGEN MIGHT BE USING TO SURVIVE UNDER AEROBIC CONDITIONS ON RETAIL MEATS, WHICH WILL HELP IN SUGGESTING POSSIBLE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE PREVALENCE OF CAMPYLOBACTER IN RETAIL MEATS AND HENCE REDUCE ITS HEALTH RISK TO THE CONSUMERS. THIS PROPOSAL FITS WELL UNDER FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM AREA PRIORITY CODE A1332. RESULTS GENERATED FROM THIS PROPOSED SEED GRANT PROJECT WILL DEFINITELY ENHANCE THE LONG-RANGE IMPROVEMENT IN AND SUSTAINABILITY OF U.S. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEMS. UNDERSTANDING AEROTOLERANCY OF CAMPYLOBACTER WILL HELP DEVELOPING STRATEGIES TO DECREASE ITS AEROTOLERANCY AND HENCE REDUCE ITS CONTAMINATION AND SURVIVAL IN RETAIL MEATS. THIS WILL, ON THE LONG RUN, REDUCE THE FOOD SAFETY RISK OF THIS FOODBORNE BACTERIAL PATHOGEN AND PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE CONSUMERS.