Epidemiology and comparative analysis of Yersinia in Ireland

Yersiniosis is an acute or chronic enteric zoonosis caused by enteropathogenic Yersinia species. Although yersiniosis is predominantly associated with gastroenteric forms of infection, extraintestinal forms are often reported from the elderly or patients with predisposing factors. Yersiniosis is often reported in countries with cold and mild climates (Northern and Central Europe, New Zealand and North of Russian Federation). The Irish Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) currently records only 3-7 notified cases of yersiniosis per year. At the same time pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica is recovered from pigs (main source of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica) at the levels similar to that observed in Yersinia endemic countries. Introduction of Yersinia selective culture procedures may increase Yersinia isolation rates. To establish whether the small number of notifications of human disease was an underestimate due to lack of specific selective culture for Yersinia we carried out a prospective culture study of faecal samples from outpatients with diarrhoea, with additional culture of appendix and throat swabs. Higher levels of anti-Yersinia seroprevalence than yersiniosis notification rates in endemic countries suggests that most yersiniosis cases are unrecognised by culture. Subsequently, in addition to a prospective culture study of clinical specimens, we carried out serological screening of Irish blood donors and environmental screening of human sewage. Pathogenic Yersinia strains were not isolated from 1,189 faeces samples, nor from 297 throat swabs, or 23 appendix swabs. This suggested that current low notification rates in Ireland are not due to the lack of specific Yersinia culture procedures. Molecular screening detected a wider variety of Y. enterocolitica-specific targets in pig slurry than in human sewage. A serological survey for antibodies against Yersinia YOP (Yersinia Outer Proteins) proteins in Irish blood donors found antibodies in 25%, with an age-related trend to increased seropositivity, compatible with the hypothesis that yersiniosis may have been more prevalent in Ireland in the recent past. Y. enterocolitica is a heterogeneous group of microorganisms that comprises strains with different degree of pathogenicity. Although non-pathogenic Y. enterocolitica lack conventional virulence factors, these strains can be isolated from patients with diarrhoea. Insecticidal Toxin Complex (ITC) and Cytolethal Distending Toxins can potentially contribute to the virulence of non-pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in the absence of other virulence factors. We compared distribution of ITC and CDT loci among pathogenic and non-pathogenic Y. enterocolitica. Additionally, to demonstrate potential pathogenicity of non-pathogenic Y. enterocolitica we compared their virulence towards Galleria mellonella larvae (a non-mammalian model of human bacterial infections) with the virulence of highly and mildly pathogenic Y. enterocolitica strains. Surprisingly, virulence of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in Galleria mellonella larvae observed at 37°C did not correlate with their pathogenic potential towards humans. Comparative phylogenomic analysis detects predicted coding sequences (CDSs) that define host-pathogen interactions and hence providing insights into molecular evolution of bacterial virulence. Comparative phylogenomic analysis of microarray data generated in Y. enterocolitica strains isolated in the Great Britain from humans with diarrhoea and domestic animals revealed high genetic heterogeneity of these species. Because of the extensive human, animal and food exchanges between the UK and Ireland the objective of this study was to gain further insight into genetic heterogeneity and relationships among clinical and non-clinical Y. enterocolitica strains of various pathogenic potential isolated in Ireland and Great Britain. No evidence of direct transfer of strains between the two countries was found.

Enforcing precariousness: a comparative analysis of the limitations placed on the legal status of refugees

This thesis focuses on the manner in which the EU, the UK, and Canada respond to and engage with the refugee’s movement from a temporary to a more permanent legal status in the state. It is noted that this transition is increasingly problematized. A trend is noted in response to this among the jurisdictions examined, to exceptionalise refugee status through acts of legal categorisation and separation. These categorisations represent an attempt to re-assert control over refugees who arrived to the state in a spontaneous manner. I argue that this categorisation and fragmentation of refugee status is another means of managing life in the state and ultimately excluding refugees within the state. Refugees therefore experience a contradictory response to their presence. While they are continually reminded of the temporary nature of their legal status in the state, they are still required to demonstrate a willingness to integrate in to the host society. Their behaviour in the state is something that is once again recalled by the decision makers who determine whether they should ultimately be able to access citizenship status. In this thesis, I argue that in order to navigate a route to citizenship, the refugee must respond to the constant re-framing and re-contextualisation of her status in the state of asylum. As the thesis observes, this raises broader questions about the nature of citizenship and belonging

Realisable climate change narratives in public discourse: an East/West comparative analysis of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) as a response to global climate change

This thesis looks at how non-experts develop an opinion on climate change, and how those opinions could be changed by public discourse. I use Hubert Dreyfus’ account of skill acquisition to distinguish between experts and non-experts. I then use a combination of Walter Fisher’s narrative paradigm and the hermeneutics of Paul Ricœur to explore how non-experts form opinions, and how public narratives can provide a point of critique. In order to develop robust narratives, they must be financially realistic. I therefore consider the burgeoning field of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) analysis as a way of informing realistic public narratives. I identify a potential problem with this approach: the Western assumptions of ESG analysis might make for public narratives that are not convincing to a non-Western audience. I then demonstrate how elements of the Chinese tradition, the Confucian, Neo-Confucian, and Daoist schools, as presented by David Hall and Roger Ames, can provide alternative assumptions to ESG analysis so that the public narratives will be more culturally adaptable. This research contributes to the discipline by bringing disparate traditions together in a unique way, into a practical project with a view towards applications. I conclude by considering avenues for further research.

Helicobacter pylori: comparative genomics and structure-function analysis of the flagellum biogenesis protein HP0958

Helicobacter pylori is a gastric pathogen which infects ~50% of the global population and can lead to the development of gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers and carcinoma. Genome sequencing of H. pylori revealed high levels of genetic variability; this pathogen is known for its adaptability due to mechanisms including phase variation, recombination and horizontal gene transfer. Motility is essential for efficient colonisation by H. pylori. The flagellum is a complex nanomachine which has been studied in detail in E. coli and Salmonella. In H. pylori, key differences have been identified in the regulation of flagellum biogenesis, warranting further investigation. In this study, the genomes of two H. pylori strains (CCUG 17874 and P79) were sequenced and published as draft genome sequences. Comparative studies identified the potential role of restriction modification systems and the comB locus in transformation efficiency differences between these strains. Core genome analysis of 43 H. pylori strains including 17874 and P79 defined a more refined core genome for the species than previously published. Comparative analysis of the genome sequences of strains isolated from individuals suffering from H. pylori related diseases resulted in the identification of “disease-specific” genes. Structure-function analysis of the essential motility protein HP0958 was performed to elucidate its role during flagellum assembly in H. pylori. The previously reported HP0958-FliH interaction could not be substantiated in this study and appears to be a false positive. Site-directed mutagenesis confirmed that the coiled-coil domain of HP0958 is involved in the interaction with RpoN (74-284), while the Zn-finger domain is required for direct interaction with the full length flaA mRNA transcript. Complementation of a non-motile hp0958-null derivative strain of P79 with site-directed mutant alleles of hp0958 resulted in cells producing flagellar-type extrusions from non-polar positions. Thus, HP0958 may have a novel function in spatial localisation of flagella in H. pylori

Comparative genome analysis of human bifidobacteria with commercial potential

This thesis describes two newly sequenced B. longum subsp. longum genomes and subsequent comparative analysis with publicly available B. longum subsp. longum, B. longum subsp. infantis and B. longum subsp. suis genomes (Chapter 2). The acquired data revealed a closed pan-genome for this bifidobacterial species and furthermore facilitated the definition of the B. longum core genome. The comparative analysis also highlights differences in the potential metabolic abilities of all three sub-species. Interestingly, phylogenetic analysis of the B. longum core genome indicated the existence of a novel B. longum subspecies. Characterisation of restriction-modification systems from two B. longum subsp. longum strains is described in Chapter 3. These defence mechanisms limit the uptake of genetic material, which was successfully demonstrated for some of the identified systems. When these systems were by-passed by methylation of DNA prior to the transformation procedure, the resulting transformation efficiency of both B. longum subsp. longum strains was increased to a level that allowed for the generation of mutants via homologous recombination. Arabinoxylan metabolism by B. longum subsp. longum NCIMB 8809 was investigated in Chapter 4 of this thesis. Transcriptome analysis allowed the identification of a number of genes involved in the degradation, uptake and utilisation of arabinoxylan. Biochemical analysis revealed that three of the identified genes encode arabinofuranosidase activity. Phenotypic assessment of a number of insertion mutants in genes identified by the transcriptome analysis revealed the essential role of two of these enzymes in arabinoxylan metabolism, and a third enzyme in the metabolism of debranched arabinan. Furthermore, this investigation revealed that B. longum subsp. longum NCIMB 8809 does not completely degrade arabinoxylan, but utilises the arabinose substitutions only, while leaving the xylan backbone untouched.Finally, Chapter 5 outlines that B. longum subsp. longum NCIMB 8809 is capable of removing ferulic and p-coumaric acid substitutions that originate from arabinoxylan. Analysis of the genome sequence led to the identification of a candidate gene for this activity, which was subsequently cloned and expressed in E. coli. Biochemical analysis revealed that the enzyme, designated here as FaeA, is indeed capable of releasing both ferulic and p-coumaric acid from arabinoxylan. Furthermore, it is shown that a derivative of B. longum subsp. longum NCIMB 8809 carrying an insertion mutation in faeA had lost the ability to release ferulic and p-coumaric acid from arabinoxylan, and that growth of this mutant strain is negatively affected when cultivated on growth-limiting levels of arabinoxylan.

Work, class and conflict: a comparative study of three Cork factories, incorporating oral testimony

This dissertation presents a comparative study of three factories in Cork Harbour area, Sunbeam Wolsey (1927-90), Irish Steel (1939-2001) and the Ford Marina Plant (1917-84). All three factories were significant industrial employers in both a domestic (Irish) and a local (Cork) context and are broadly representative of the Irish manufacturing industry that was developed under the policies of tariff protection introduced in the 1930s and gradually phased out between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s. Sunbeam Wolsey was a textile and clothing concern located on the north side of Cork City that possessed a borderline monopoly within its economic sector and was among the largest private employers of female labour in twentieth century Ireland. Irish Steel was the country’s only steel mill, located on Haulbowline island, a brief ferry-ride from the seaside town of Cobh, and was unusual in being one of the few manufacturing concerns operated as a nationalised industry under the auspices of the state. The Ford Marina plant predated the introduction of protectionism by more than a decade and began as the centre of the Ford empire’s tractor manufacturing business, before switching to the production of private motor vehicles for the Irish market in 1932. All three industries were closed or sold off when the state withdrew support, either in the form of tariff protection (Ford, Sunbeam) or direct funding (Irish Steel). While devoting much attention to the three firms, the central concern of this dissertation is not the companies themselves (though the economic history portion of the dissertation is substantial), but the workers they employed, examining the lives of these individuals both as members of the Irish working class, and, more specifically, as employees of the three factories under consideration. The project can be best described as a comparative factory study, comparing and contrasting the three workforces, focusing primarily on industrial relation and the experience of work. This dissertation utilises both documentary evidence and a significant quantity of oral testimony, breaking new ground by making the workplace the central focus of its investigation. The principal aims of the study are: 1. To document the lives of those who worked in these factories, capturing through oral testimony their subjective experiences of social class and factory life, as well as differences among narrators in terms of gender and status. In achieving this aim, the study will provide a broader social context for its detailed analysis of work and industrial relations in each firm. 2. To analyse the three workplaces and determine how and why each developed such distinct systems of industrial relations at the factory level, as well as to compare and contrast these systems. 3. To examine the nature of work in each factory and to determine how work and industrial relations in each firm developed over time, relating these changes both to internal and external factors. Additionally, the project will provide a comparative analysis of these changes.

Reflective judgment vs. investigation of things – a comparative study of Kant and Zhu Xi

This thesis is devoted to studying two historical philosophical events that happened in the West and the East. A metaphysical crisis stimulated Kant’s writings during his late critical period towards the notion of the supersensible. It further motivated a methodological shift and his coining of reflective judgment, which eventually brought about a systemic unfolding of his critical philosophy via Kantian moral teleology. Zhu Xi and his Neo-Confucian contemporaries confronted a transformed intellectual landscape resulting from the Neo-Daoist and Buddhist discourses of “what is beyond the form”. The revival of Confucianism required a method in order to relocate the formless Dao back into daily life and to reconstruct a meta-ethical foundation within a social context. This led to the Neo-Confucian recasting of “investigation of things” from The Great Learning via complex hermeneutic operations. By the respective investigation on, as well as the comparative analysis of the two events, I reveal the convergence and incommensurability between the two distinct cultural traditions concerning the metaphysical quests, the mechanism of intellectual development, and moral teleology, so as to capture the intrinsic characteristics of philosophical research in general.

Diverse heritage: exploring literary identity in the American Southwest

Since the age of colonisation, the territory of New Mexico has been exposed to a diversity of cultural influence. Throughout recorded history various forces have battled for control of this territory, resulting in a continuous redefinition of its political, geographic and economic boundaries. Early representations of the Southwest have been defined as “strategies of negotiation” between Anglo, Hispanic and Native populations, strategies that are particularly evident in the territory of New Mexico. The contemporary identity of regions like northern New Mexico have destabilised the notion of what constitutes racial purity in regions which are defined by diversity. This thesis aims to evaluate the literary history of northern New Mexico in order to determine how exposure to a diversity of cultural influence has affected the region’s identity. An analysis of Anglo and Native writers from northern New Mexico will illustrate that these racial groups were influenced by the same geographic landscape. As such, their writing displays many characteristics unique to the region. In providing a comparative analysis of Native and Anglo authors from northern New Mexico, this thesis seeks to demonstrate commonalities of theme, structure and content. In doing so this research encourages a new perspective on New Mexico writing one which effectively de-centres contemporary notions of what the American canon should be.

A king for the queene: Samuel Sheppard's the faerie king and his reception of Spenser's epic authority

This thesis is the study of the use and abuse of Edmund Spenser as an authority in native English epic literature of the early seventeenth century, within fifty years of his death. It focuses on attempts to emulate or adapt his seminal text, The Faerie Queene (1596), and offers a comparative analysis of two such approaches by the liminal authors, Ralph Knevet and Samuel Sheppard. The former, a tutor to the wealthy Norfolk Paston family, produced his A Supplement of the Ferie Queene in the pre-Civil War period (c.1630-1635), while the latter wrote The Faerie King at the very end of the social upheaval of the war (c.1648-54). The thesis privileges the study of the holograph manuscripts (Cambridge University Library, MS Ee.3.53 and Bodleian Library MS Rawl. Poet. 28 respectively) over the basic editions of these neglected texts. It argues for the need to re-evaluate the significance of such texts within the Spenserian canon and, through new readings of the texts' structures and contexts, the thesis questions the legitimacy of canon formation and continuation, as well as the influence editorial policies and decision making can have on subsequent readers and receptions of the text

Victims' rights in Ireland: influences, illusions and impacts

Following international trends victims of crime in Ireland have increasingly become a source of political, policy and to a lesser extent academic concern. Although it is assumed that the Irish victims’ rights movement is having a profound impact on the criminal justice system there are very few studies addressing this assumption or the genesis of the Irish movement. At the time a victims’ rights movement was established in Ireland there were movements already established in the U.S. and Britain. To determine which model Ireland followed, if any, in establishing its movement a comparative analysis of the emergence of the victims’ rights movements in these three common law jurisdictions was undertaken. This research examines possible victim policy transfer to test the transfer route perception that the victims’ movement began in the U.S., was transferred into Britain and then onto Ireland. At the same time that the victims’ rights movements were emerging in the U.S., Britain and Ireland, and asserting pressure on their national governments for beneficial changes for victims of crime, international organisations such as the U.N. and Council of Europe were being pressured by victims’ rights groups into introducing victim centered instruments of guidance and best practice for member states. Eventually the E.U. became involved and enacted a binding instrument in 2001. These victim centered instruments provide legal and service provision rights to Irish victims of crime, but they do not generate much academic interest. This research, in addition to providing a detailed account of the victim centered instruments, analyses the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, and identifies and analyses the primary victim centered statutory modifications and case law in Ireland over the past three decades. Lastly, the current law and practices in Ireland are evaluated against Ireland’s obligations under international and E.U. law.

A social history of sport in Cork, Tipperary and Waterford, c. 1880-1930

This thesis seeks to explore the development of sport in Munster in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by comparing developments in three counties: Cork, Tipperary and Waterford. In particular this thesis considers the development of rugby and soccer in comparative perspective across these three counties, asking what local factors impacted on their uneven development in the region and considering the extent to which the traditional model of diffusion applies to the reception of these sports in the three counties. By giving consideration to these two particular non-indigenous sports, the thesis will, through answering that question, explore ideas of cultural reception, national identity and class as expressed at local level. These themes will be explored by placing the comparative analysis of these two sports into a wider context of sporting development regionally and nationally in the period, in particular the emerging commercialisation of sport, and also the diverse sporting culture of which these two sports were a part. Utilising a wide range of archival sources from local, national and sporting newspapers, to club records, official publications and ephemera this thesis builds a picture of sport in Munster that is deeply rooted in the community, and that forms an important facet of the social world of Cork, Tipperary and Waterford from 1880-1930.

Characterisation of bacteriophage-host interactions in Lactococcus lactis

Lactococcus lactis is used extensively world-wide for the production of fermented dairy products. Bacteriophages (phages) infecting L. lactis can result in slow or incomplete fermentations, or may even cause total fermentation failure. Therefore, bacteriophages disrupting L. lactis fermentation are of economic concern. This thesis employed a multifaceted approach to investigate various molecular aspects of phage-host interaction in L. lactis. The genome sequence of an Irish dairy starter strain, the prophage-cured L. lactis subsp. cremoris UC509.9, was studied. The 2,250,427 bp circular chromosome represents the smallest among its sequenced lactococcal equivalents. The genome displays clear genetic adaptation to the dairy niche in the form of extensive reductive evolution. Gene prediction identified 2066 protein-encoding genes, including 104 which showed significant homology to transposase-specifying genes. Over 9 % of the identified genes appear to be inactivated through stop codons or frame shift mutations. Many pseudogenes were found in genes that are assigned to carbohydrate and amino acid transport and metabolism orthologous groups, reflecting L. lactis UC509.9’s adaptation to the lactose and casein-rich dairy environment. Sequence analysis of the eight plasmids of L. lactis revealed extensive adaptation to the dairy environment. Key industrial phenotypes were mapped and novel lactococcal plasmid-associated genes highlighted. In addition to chromosomally-encoded bacteriophage resistance systems, six functional such systems were identified, including two abortive infection systems, AbiB and AbiD1, explaining the observed phage resistance of L. lactis UC509.9 Molecular analysis suggests that the constitutive expression of AbiB is not lethal to cells, suggesting the protein is expressed in an un/inactivated form. Analysis of 936 species phage sk1-escape mutants of AbiB revealed that all such mutants harbour mutations in orf6, which encodes the major capsid protein. Results suggest that the major capsid protein is required for activation of the AbiB system, although this requires furrther investigations. Temporal transcriptomes of L. lactis UC509.9 undergoing lytic infection with either one of two distinct bacteriophages, Tuc2009 and c2, was determined and compared to the transcriptome of uninfected UC509.9 cells. Whole genome microarrays performed at various time-points post-infection demonstrated a rather modest impact on host transcription. Alterations in the UC509.9 transcriptome during lytic infection appear phage-specific, with a relatively small number of differentially transcribed genes shared between infection with either Tuc2009 or c2. Transcriptional profiles of both bacteriophages during lytic infection was shown to generally correlate with previous studies and allowed the confirmation of previously predicted promoter sequences. Bioinformatic analysis of genomic regions encoding the presumed cell wall polysaccharide (CW PS) biosynthesis gene cluster of several strains of L. lactis was performed. Results demonstrate the presence of three dominant genetic types of this gene cluster, termed type A, B and C. These regions were used for the development of a multiplex PCR to identify CW PS genotype of various lactococcal strains. Analysis of 936 species phage receptor binding protein phylogeny (RBP) and CW PS genotype revealed an apparent correlation between RBP phylogeny and CW PS type, thereby providing a partial explanation for the observed narrow host range of 936 phages. Further analysis of the genetic locus encompassing the presumed CW PS biosynthesis operon of eight strains identified as belonging to the CW PS C (geno)type, revealed the presence of a variable region among the examined strains. The obtained comparative analysis allowed for the identification of five subgroups of the C type, named C1 to C5. We purified an acidic polysaccharide from the cell wall of L. lactis 3107 (C2 subtype) and confirmed that it is structurally different from the CW PS of the C1 subtype L. lactis MG1363. Combinations of genes from the variable region of C2 subtype were amplified from L. lactis 3107 and introduced into a mutant of the C1 subtype L. lactis NZ9000 (a direct derivative of MG1363) deficient in CW PS biosynthesis. The resulting recombinant mutant synthesized a CW PS with a composition characteristic for that of the C2 subtype L. lactis 3107 and not the wildtype C1 L. lactis NZ9000. The recombinant mutant exhibited a changed phage resistance/sensitivity profile consistent with that of L. lactis 3107, which unambiguously demonstrated that L. lactis 3107 CW PS is the host cell surface receptor of two bacteriophages belonging to the P335 species as well as phages that are member of the 936 species. The research presented in this thesis has significantly advanced our understanding of L. lactis bacteriophage-host interactions in several ways. Firstly, the examination of plasmidencoded bacteriophage resistance systems has allowed inferences to be made regarding the mode of action of AbiB, thereby providing a platform for further elucidation of the molecular trigger of this system. Secondly, the phage infection transcriptome data presented, in addition to previous work, has made L. lactis a model organism in terms of transcriptomic studies of bacteriophage-host interactions. And finally, the research described in this thesis has for the first time explicitly revealed the nature of a carbohydrate bacteriophage receptor in L. lactis, while also providing a logical explanation for the observed narrow host ranges exhibited by 936 and P335 phages. Future research in discerning the structures of other L. lactis CW PS, combined with the determination of the molecular interplay between receptor binding proteins of these phages and CW PS will allow an in depth understanding of the mechanism by which the most prevalent lactococcal phages identify and adsorb to their specific host.

Accommodating interruptions: a grounded theory of young people with asthma

Background: Accommodating Interruptions is a theory that emerged in the context of young people who have asthma. A background to the prevalence and management of asthma in Ireland is given to situate the theory. Ireland has the fourth highest incidence of asthma in the world, with almost one in five Irish young people having asthma. Although national and international asthma management guidelines exist it is accepted that the symptom control of asthma among the young people population is poor. Aim: The aim of this research is to investigate the lives of young people who have asthma, to allow for a deeper understanding of the issues affecting them. Methods: This research was undertaken using a Classic Grounded Theory approach. It is a systematic approach to allowing conceptual emergence from data in generating a theory that explains behaviour in resolving the participant’s main concern. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with young people aged 11-16 years who had asthma for over one year. Data were also collected from participant diaries. Constant comparative analysis, theoretical coding and memo writing were used to develop the theory. Results: The theory explains how young people resolve their main concern of being restricted, by maximizing their participation and inclusion in activities, events and relationships in spite of their asthma. They achieve this by accommodating interruptions in their lives in minimizing the effects of asthma on their everyday lives. Conclusion: The theory of accommodating interruptions explains young people’s asthma management behaviours in a new way. It allows us to understand how and why young people behave the way they do in order minimise the effect of asthma on their lives. The theory adds to the body of knowledge on young people with asthma and challenges some viewpoints regarding their behaviours.

The biodiversity, control and genetic characterisation of the lactococcal 936 group phages

Phages belonging to the 936 group represent one of the most prevalent and frequently isolated phages in dairy fermentation processes using Lactococcus lactis as the primary starter culture. In recent years extensive research has been carried out to characterise this phage group at a genomic level in an effort to understand how the 936 group phages dominate this particular niche and cause regular problems during large scale milk fermentations. This thesis describes a large scale screening of industrial whey samples, leading to the isolation of forty three genetically different lactococcal phages. Using multiplex PCR, all phages were identified as members of the 936 group. The complete genome of thirty eight of these phages was determined using next generation sequencing technologies which identified several regions of divergence. These included the structural region surrounding the major tail protein, the replication region as well as the genes involved in phage DNA packing. For a number of phages the latter genomic region was found to harbour genes encoding putative orphan methyltransferases. Using small molecule real time (SMRT) sequencing and heterologous gene expression, the target motifs for several of these MTases were determined and subsequently shown to actively protect phage DNA from restriction endonuclease activity. Comparative analysis of the thirty eight phages with fifty two previously sequenced members of this group showed that the core genome consists of 28 genes, while the non-core genome was found to fluctuate irrespective of geographical location or time of isolation. This study highlights the continued need to perform large scale characterisation of the bacteriophage populations infecting industrial fermentation facilities in effort to further our understanding dairy phages and ways to control their proliferation.