一株金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体的分离鉴定与生物学特性

【背景】金黄色葡萄球菌作为一种条件致病菌,在临床感染中扮演着重要的角色,需要研究更多更有效的防治手段。【目的】分离金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体,研究其生物学特性,从而为金黄色葡萄球菌的替代防治提供理论借鉴。【方法】以金黄色葡萄球菌D085为宿主从污水中分离得到一株噬菌体,命名为v B_Sau S_SAP3,用PEG8000浓缩、氯化铯密度梯度离心获得高纯度的噬菌体,1%乙酸双氧铀染色噬菌体进行电镜观察。测定噬菌体宿主谱、最佳感染复数(Multiplicity of Infection,MOI)、一步生长曲线、热稳定性、pH值稳定性及有机溶剂对噬菌体活性的影响。平衡酚法获取噬菌体基因组,Illumina测序技术和SPAdes软件进行基因组测序分析。【结果】电镜下,噬菌体SAP3头部直径为60±5 nm,尾部长170±5 nm。噬菌体vB_SauS_SAP3还能裂解5株金黄色葡萄球菌和1株产色葡萄球菌,其最佳感染复数为0.1。噬菌体vB_SauS_SAP3潜伏期为20 min,60 min后进入平台期,裂解量约为210 PFU/cell;对45°C以下温度有一定耐受性,超过45°C开始急剧失活;能在中性pH值时保持稳定活性,酸性环境会使其急剧失活,对碱性环境有一定的抵抗力;对氯仿和异戊醇不耐受。其基因组分析结果表明:噬菌体基因组大小为41950bp,GC含量为35.42%,预测有65个开放阅读框(Open Reading Frame,ORF)。进化分析表明,噬菌体vB_SauS_SAP3属于长尾科噬菌体,是一种新型的噬菌体。【结论】噬菌体vB_SauS_SAP3是一株窄谱的能够耐受一定温度和碱性环境的长尾科新型噬菌体,对其研究可为金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体的研究提供理论材料。     

金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体vB_Sau_P68的基因组分析和裂解酶

【背景】金黄色葡萄球菌是常见的人畜共患条件致病菌,随着多耐药菌株分离率的增长,研发与抗生素作用模式不同的抗菌剂迫在眉睫。【目的】分离高效且特异性强的金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体,对其进行功能注释,并对其编码的裂解酶进行功能验证。【方法】通过对噬菌体全基因组序列进行分析找到裂解酶基因,利用原核表达系统对其编码的2个裂解酶蛋白进行克隆,用SDS-PAGE与蛋白免疫印迹法(Western blotting)鉴定目的蛋白是否表达,并采用单斑法验证其裂解活性。【结果】本研究的噬菌体为一株新的金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体,命名为vB＿Sau＿P68,该基因组全长为139 409 bp,GC含量为31.0%,编码220个开放阅读框(open reading frame,ORF),透射电镜观察具有正二十面体头部和收缩性尾部,形态学分类属于肌尾噬菌体。该噬菌体编码2个裂解酶基因,分别具有CHAP催化结构域与SH3＿5结合结构域,SDS-PAGE与Western blotting表明Lys161能够表达且有裂解活性,Lys163则无法外源表达。对Lys161序列进行分析,该裂解酶无信号肽,无跨膜区域,以无规则卷曲为主。【...     

屎肠球菌噬菌体vB_EfaS_29生物学特性及基因组分析

【背景】随着屎肠球菌耐药性越来越严重,亟需筛选获得新的、裂解效率高且遗传背景清晰的裂解性噬菌体,丰富噬菌体资源,为噬菌体疗法提供可用的菌株。【目的】从江苏省南京市西岗奶牛场粪便样品中分离出一株裂解性屎肠球菌噬菌体,研究其生物学特性及分析基因组学特征。【方法】通过双层平板法对其进行纯化,观察噬菌斑特征,透射电镜观察噬菌体形态,测定一步生长曲线、pH耐受性、温度耐受性以及最佳感染复数,对噬菌体进行全基因组测序及遗传进化分析。【结果】分离并纯化的一株裂解性屎肠球菌噬菌体命名为vB_EfaS_29,其噬菌斑圆形透亮,外周无晕环。该噬菌体头部呈二十面体,头部直径约52.4 nm,尾长约157.1 nm,为长尾噬菌体科。该噬菌体的最佳感染复数为0.1,最高耐受温度为70℃左右,当pH值在6.0-9.0时其效价稳定。一步生长曲线表明,其潜伏期为10 min,暴发期约为50 min,暴发量为80。基因组全长41 014 bp,GC含量为34.99%,共有63个开放阅读框(Open Reading Frame,ORF),其中36个被注释出已知基因,基因组中不含毒力基因、耐药基因及整合基因。进化分析显示以裂解酶编码氨基酸为靶标对比,该噬菌体与GenBank上的粪肠球菌噬菌体vB_EfaS_DELF1相似性大于99%,但是以噬菌体衣壳蛋白编码氨基酸为靶标比对发现,该噬菌体肠球菌与其他噬菌体遗传距离均较远。【结论】分离出一株裂解性屎肠球菌噬菌体,对其进行生物学特性及基因组分析,为噬菌体研究和应用提供理论依据及研究基础。     

一株新型旱獭源性宽谱大肠杆菌噬菌体的分离鉴定及基因组分析

[目的]分离喜马拉雅旱獭肠内容物样本中的噬菌体,并研究其生物学特性和基因组特征。[方法]以大肠杆菌为宿主菌,利用双层琼脂平板法从喜马拉雅旱獭肠内容物样本中分离噬菌体;用透射电镜观察形态特征;测定其最佳感染复数、一步生长曲线、酸碱耐受度及宿主裂解谱等生物学特性,并进行全基因组测序。[结果]从喜马拉雅旱獭肠内容物样本中分离得到一株裂解性大肠杆菌噬菌体,命名为vB_EcoM_TH18,其噬菌斑呈无晕环的透亮圆形,透射电镜观察发现该噬菌体头部直径为(90±5) nm,尾部长度为(115±5) nm;最佳感染复数为1;一步生长曲线显示其潜伏期为10 min,110 min后进入平台期,平均裂解量为15 PFU/mL;在pH 4.5-9.5的范围内具有稳定活性;可裂解多种致病型和血清型大肠杆菌和宋内志贺氏菌,无法裂解沙门氏菌、屎肠球菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、肺炎克雷伯杆菌及鲍曼不动杆菌;基因组测序结果表明,其基因组长度为133 882 bp,GC含量为39.95%。基因组共注释到210个编码序列(CDS)和13个tRNAs,不含毒力基因及耐药基因。BLASTn比对结果表明该基因组与Avunavirus属噬菌体Av-05同源性为95.17%。基于噬菌体全基因组、主要衣壳蛋白和终止酶大亚基分别构建系统进化树,结果表明vB_EcoM_TH18是一株肌尾噬菌体科(Myoviridae) Avunavirus属的新型噬菌体。[结论]从喜马拉雅旱獭肠内容物中成功分离并鉴定了一株新型宽谱大肠杆菌噬菌体vB_EcoM_TH18,可裂解多种致病型和血清型的大肠杆菌及宋内志贺菌。     

林麝源铜绿假单胞菌噬菌体vB＿PaeM＿PAMD02的生物学特性与全基因组序列分析

【背景】圈养林麝一半以上的死亡是由铜绿假单胞菌引起的化脓性疾病导致。另外,由于细菌的抗性增加,噬菌体是继抗生素后的另一抗菌选择。【目的】以分离自病死林麝肺脏的铜绿假单胞菌为宿主菌分离一株噬菌体,对其进行生物学特性、全基因组序列分析与体内抑菌试验。【方法】通过双层平板法分离纯化一株裂解性噬菌体,测定其裂解谱、最佳感染复数、一步生长曲线、热稳定性、最适生长pH等生物学特性,通过电镜观察其具体形态,进行全基因组测序与序列分析,并进行小鼠体内抑菌试验。【结果】分离到一株裂解性铜绿假单胞菌噬菌体并命名为vB＿PaeM＿PAMD02,该噬菌体具有透明且边缘清晰无晕环的噬菌斑,其裂解谱较窄,最佳感染复数为0.1,裂解潜伏期为40 min,裂解暴发量较高,热稳定性较高,可耐受弱碱环境。其全基因组大小为66 264 bp,GC含量为55.59%,序列注释结果显示该噬菌体具有92个开放阅读框,不含毒力与耐药基因,属于肌尾噬菌体科。小鼠体内抑菌试验结果显示了PAMD02对其宿主菌良好的抑菌效果。【结论】本研究分离的噬菌体PAMD02有较高的裂解效率,对不利环境有较好的耐受性,不含毒力基因与耐药基因,具有应用...     

肠侵袭性大肠埃希菌噬菌体DK-13的生物学特性及应用

【目的】筛选并分离出能裂解肠侵袭性大肠埃希菌噬菌体,分析其生物学特性,并探究其对污染猪肉的杀菌作用。【方法】采用双层平板法分离鉴定噬菌体,并测定其最佳感染复数,一步生长曲线等,对其基因组进行测序分析以及裂解功效的测定。【结果】从医院污水中分离鉴定能特异裂解肠侵袭性大肠埃希菌（Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli,EIEC）的噬菌体并命名为DK-13,其呈典型的蝌蚪状外形,包含一个正二十面体的头部和一个可收缩的螺旋对称的尾部,属于肌尾噬菌体科（Myoviridae）噬菌体;生物学特性表明：最佳感染复数为0.01,潜伏期约为10 min,裂解期约为70 min,噬菌体DK-13能在50℃,pH 5.0-10.0条件下存活。全基因组测序表明,噬菌体基因组长约172 275 bp,GC含量为40.18%,预测其共有293个开放阅读框（open reading frames,ORF）,未发现已知耐药基因和毒力基因。应用试验表明：被污染的猪肉中表现的杀菌效果良好,宿主菌的数量明显减少。【结论】分离并鉴定一株新的烈性噬菌体DK-13,DK-13具有潜伏期短、裂解效率高等优势...     

一株新的多重耐药福氏志贺菌噬菌体生物学特性及基因组分析北大核心CSCD

抗生素的大量使用和滥用造成细菌耐药性问题愈发严峻,噬菌体疗法作为一种精准治疗多重耐药病原菌的有效方法开始被人们日益重视。采用双层琼脂平板法从活性污泥中分离出多重耐药福氏志贺菌(Shigella flexneri)噬菌体P003,鉴定为肌尾噬菌体科(Myoviridae)。通过生物学特性测定表明P003的最佳感染复数为10,潜伏期约10 min;在4-70℃、pH 3.0-10.0的条件下保持活性。全基因组测序表明,噬菌体基因组长约68 721 bp,GC含量46.14%,预测编码99个开放阅读框(open reading frame,ORF),未发现已知耐药基因和毒力基因。全基因组多序列线性与进化树分析结果表明,P003与大肠杆菌噬菌体有较近的亲缘关系,但不能侵染大肠杆菌。从活性污泥原位分离到一株新的多重耐药福氏志贺菌噬菌体P003,为利用噬菌体疗法防治多重耐药病原菌S.flexneri感染提供了新的菌种资源。     

一株新型牛源肺炎克雷伯菌噬菌体的分离鉴定

【背景】肺炎克雷伯菌(Klebsiella pneumoniae)是一种广泛分布于环境中的重要致病菌,该菌较高的耐药性致其在养殖业中治疗较为困难。【目的】分离一株裂解性肺炎克雷伯菌噬菌体,对分离株进行生物学特性鉴定和基因组学分析。【方法】使用双层平板法从四川省某奶牛场中分离、纯化出一株裂解性噬菌体,测定其裂解谱、热稳定性、酸碱耐受度、最佳感染复数及一步生长曲线等生物学特性,并进行全基因组的测序及注释分析。【结果】得到一株裂解性肺炎克雷伯菌噬菌体vB_Kpn_B01,该噬菌体拥有透明且无晕环的噬菌斑,热稳定性较高,在极酸或极碱环境下不进行裂解活动,特异性较强,属长尾噬菌体科(Siphoviridae)。vB_Kpn_B01全基因组大小为113 227 bp,GC含量为47.97%。注释结果显示噬菌体拥有149个编码序列和25个tRNAs,不含耐药基因及毒力基因。通过噬菌体的进化树分析发现,该噬菌体为Sugarlandvirus。【结论】vB_Kpn_B01拥有高效的生长...     

一株屎肠球菌烈性噬菌体的分离鉴定及基因组测序分析

【背景】屎肠球菌为ESKAPE(由屎肠球菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、肺炎克雷伯菌、鲍曼不动杆菌、铜绿假单胞菌和肠杆菌属六大超级细菌的拉丁学名首字母组成)病原体之一,对多种抗菌药物具有耐药性,严重威胁全球人类健康,被世界卫生组织列入亟须研发新抗菌药的病原体名单。【目的】分离针对屎肠球菌的烈性噬菌体,测定其基本生物学特性并进行基因组测序分析,为屎肠球菌噬菌体疗法提供原料。【方法】从牧场污水中分离筛选出一株烈性屎肠球菌噬菌体,命名为Enterococcus phage 1A11,通过透射电镜观察噬菌体的形态,测定其最佳感染复数、一步生长曲线和裂解谱,并进行全基因组的测序和分析,以阐释该噬菌体的基本生物学特性。【结果】电镜下可观察到屎肠球菌噬菌体1A11具有典型的正二十面体头部结构和较长的尾部结构,属于有尾病毒目长尾病毒科,而且测得其最佳感染复数为0.01,裂解周期为70 min,潜伏期为30 min,暴发期为40 min,并特异性地对部分屎肠球菌产生裂解作用。噬菌体1A11的基因组大小为42 750 bp,GC含量为34.71%,含有70个推定的开放阅读框(open reading frame, O...     

一株雀纹天蛾核型多角体病毒的鉴定及其基因组序列分析

从自然死亡的雀纹天蛾幼虫分离到一株雀纹天蛾核型多角体病毒。通过扫描及切片透射电镜发现,该病毒为单粒包埋型核型多角体病毒,命名为ThjaSNPV(Theretra japonica single nucleopolyhedrovirus)。病毒全基因组重测序后拼接显示,该病毒基因组全长134 899 bp,GC含量37.28%,与豆天蛾单粒包埋型核型多角体病毒株DZ1基因组序列相似性高达96.24%。ThjaSNPV含有131个开放阅读框（ORF）其中55个为正链基因,76个为负链基因,与宿主同为天蛾科的豆天蛾单粒包埋型核型多角体基因组相比,雀纹天蛾单粒包埋型核型多角体病毒新注释到7个基因：chitin-binding protein(ORF9),ODV-E18(ORF11),lef-11(ORF27),hypothetical protein(ORF41),lef-10(ORF42),pif-6(ORF66),P6.9(ORF88)。ThjaSNPV的DNA光裂酶基因（DNA photolyase,ORF53）中不具有豆天蛾NPV中的1bp碱基的缺失,只编码一个大的完整DNA裂合酶。3...     

Bioinformatic analysis of the Acinetobacter baumannii phage AB1 genome

As one of the pathogens of hospital-acquired infections, Acinetobacter baumannii poses great challenges to the public health. A. baumannii phage could be an effective way to fight multi-resistant A. baumannii. Here, we completed the whole genome sequencing of the complete genome of A. baumannii phage AB1, which consists of 45,159bp and is a double-stranded DNA molecule with an average GC content of 37.7%. The genome encodes one tRNA gene and 85 open reading frames (ORFs) and the average size of the ORF is 531bp in length. Among 85 ORFs, only 14 have been identified to share significant sequence similarities to the genes with known functions, while 28 are similar in sequence to the genes with function-unknown genes in the database and 43 ORFs are uniquely present in the phage AB1 genome. Fourteen function-assigned genes with putative functions include five phage structure proteins, an RNA polymerase, a big sub-unit and a small sub-unit of a terminase, a methylase and a recombinase and the proteins involved in DNA replication and so on. Multiple sequence alignment was conducted among those homologous proteins and the phylogenetic trees were reconstructed to analyze the evolutionary courses of these essential genes. From comparative genomics analysis, it turned out clearly that the frame of the phage genome mainly consisted of genes from Xanthomonas phages, Burkholderia ambifaria phages and Enterobacteria phages and while it comprises genes of its host A. baumannii only sporadically. The mosaic feature of the phage genome suggested that the horizontal gene transfer occurred among the phage genomes and between the phages and the host bacterium genomes. Analyzing the genome sequences of the phages should lay sound foundation to investigate how phages adapt to the environment and infect their hosts, and even help to facilitate the development of biological agents to deal with pathogenic bacteria.     

Complete genomic sequence of bacteriophage phiEcoM-GJ1, a novel phage that has myovirus morphology and a podovirus-like RNA polymerase

The complete genome of phiEcoM-GJ1, a lytic phage that attacks porcine enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli of serotype O149:H10:F4, was sequenced and analyzed. The morphology of the phage and the identity of the structural proteins were also determined. The genome consisted of 52,975 bp with a G+C content of 44% and was terminally redundant and circularly permuted. Seventy-five potential open reading frames (ORFs) were identified and annotated, but only 29 possessed homologs. The proteins of five ORFs showed homology with proteins of phages of the family Myoviridae, nine with proteins of phages of the family Podoviridae, and six with proteins of phages of the family Siphoviridae. ORF 1 encoded a T7-like single-subunit RNA polymerase and was preceded by a putative E. coli sigma(70)-like promoter. Nine putative phage promoters were detected throughout the genome. The genome included a tRNA gene of 95 bp that had a putative 18-bp intron. The phage morphology was typical of phages of the family Myoviridae, with an icosahedral head, a neck, and a long contractile tail with tail fibers. The analysis shows that phiEcoM-GJ1 is unique, having the morphology of the Myoviridae, a gene for RNA polymerase, which is characteristic of phages of the T7 group of the Podoviridae, and several genes that encode proteins with homology to proteins of phages of the family Siphoviridae.     

A Virulent Phage Infecting Lactococcus garvieae,with Homology to Lactococcus lactis Phages

A new virulent phage belonging to the Siphoviridae family and able to infect Lactococcus garvieae strains was isolated from compost soil. Phage GE1 has a prolate capsid (56 by 38 nm) and a long noncontractile tail (123 nm). It had a burst size of 139 and a latent period of 31 min. Its host range was limited to only two L. garvieae strains out of 73 tested. Phage GE1 has a double-stranded DNA genome of 24,847 bp containing 48 predicted open reading frames (ORFs). Putative functions could be assigned to only 14 ORFs, and significant matches in public databases were found for only 17 ORFs, indicating that GE1 is a novel phage and its genome contains several new viral genes and encodes several new viral proteins. Of these 17 ORFs, 16 were homologous to deduced proteins of virulent phages infecting the dairy bacterium Lactococcus lactis, including previously characterized prolate-headed phages. Comparative genome analysis confirmed the relatedness of L. garvieae phage GE1 to L. lactis phages c2 (22,172 bp) and Q54 (26,537 bp), although its genome organization was closer to that of phage c2. Phage GE1 did not infect any of the 58 L. lactis strains tested. This study suggests that phages infecting different lactococcal species may have a common ancestor.     

Whole genome sequencing of a novel temperate bacteriophage of P. aeruginosa: evidence of tRNA gene mediating integration of the phage genome into the host bacterial chromosome

Whole genome sequencing of a novel Pseudomonas aeruginosa temperate bacteriophage PaP3 has been completed. The genome contains 45 503 bp with GC content of 52.1%, without more than 100 bp sequence hitting homologue in all sequenced phage genomes. A total of 256 open reading frames (ORFs) are found in the genome, and 71 ORFs are predicated as coding sequence (CDS). All 71 CDS are divided into the two opposite direction groups, and both groups meet at the bidirectional terminator site locating the near middle of the genome. The genome is dsDNA with 5'-protruded cohesive ends and cohesive sequence is 'GCCGGCCCCTTTCCGCGTTA' (20 mer). There are four tRNA genes (tRNA(Asn), tRNA(Asp), tRNA(Tyr) and tRNA(Pro)) clustering at the 5'-terminal of the genome. Analysis of integration site of PaP3 in the host bacterial genome confirmed that the core sequence of (GGTCGTAGGTTCGAATCCTAC-21mer) locates at tRNA(Pro) gene within the attP region and at tRNA(Lys) gene in the attB region. The results indicated that 3'-end of tRNA(Pro) gene of the PaP3 genome is involved in the integration reaction and 5'-end of tRNA(Lys) gene of host bacteria genome is hot spot of the integration.     

Prophage, phiPV83-pro, carrying panton-valentine leukocidin genes, on the Staphylococcus aureus P83 chromosome: comparative analysis of the genome structures of phiPV83-pro, phiPVL, phi11, and other phages

Staphylococcus aureus P83 has Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-like genes, lukM and lukF-PV. Here, lukM and lukF-PV genes were found on the genome of a prophage, which was designated as phiPV83-pro. The precise genome size was 45,636 bp with att core sequences of 10 base pairs. Sixty-four ORFs were identified on the phiPV83-pro genome, including two extra operons, lukM-lukF-PV and orfs63-64. The lukM-lukF-PV cluster was located 2.1 kb upstream of the attL site. The most striking feature of the phiPV83-pro genome was a constituent of at least 4 regions from phi11, phiPVL, and other phages, i.e., (i) att sites identical with those of phi11, (ii) a cos sequence and the genes encoding packaging and head proteins of phiPVL (occupied half region of phiPV83-pro), and (iii) the other two regions which showed no significant similarity with known phages (occupied about 40% of phiPV83-pro). Furthermore, two insertion sequences, ISSA1 and ISSA2 were integrated into attL site and orf44, respectively. PhiPV83-pro was not induced as phage particles from S. aureus P83 regardless of its treatment with mitomycin C. The insertion of ISSA1 into the attL site was one of the reasons of the failure of the induction of the phage particles by mitomycin C treatment of the strain P83.     

Complete Genome Sequence of Wide-Host-Range Staphylococcus aureus Phage JD007

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-related infections have become a serious problem worldwide. Bacteriophage therapy is an alternative approach against this threat. S. aureus phage JD007, which belongs to the Myoviridae family according to transmission electron microscopic imaging, could lyse nearly 30% of the S. aureus strains from Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, China, and was isolated from chicken feces in Shanghai, China. The complete genome showed that JD007 is a linear, double-stranded DNA phage 141,836 bp in length with a GC content of 30.4% encoding 217 open reading frames. A BLAST search of the JD007 genome revealed that it was very similar to that of phage GH15.     

Use of bacteriophage-resistant mutants to study the nature of the bacteriophage receptor site of Staphylococcus aureus

Bacteriophage-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus H were isolated after mutagenesis with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Cell walls isolated from about half of these resistant strains were incapable of inactivating phages and were shown to lack N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc) in their cell wall teichoic acid. Apart from the lack of GlcNAc, two of these mutant strains were deficient in cell wall phosphorus and ester-linked d-alanine. These two strains were also found to be resistant to both phage K and a host-range mutant isolated from the parent phage. These two phages could lyse the other phage-resistant mutants which lacked GlcNAc in their teichoic acid. Cell walls from the remaining phage-resistant mutant strains did inactivate phages and were found to have normal cell wall teichoic acid. Although GlcNAc in teichoic acid was required for phage inactivation, no difference in phage inactivation ability was detected with cell walls isolated from strains of S. aureus having exclusively alpha- or exclusively beta-linked GlcNAc in their cell wall teichoic acid.     

Lactococcal 949 Group Phages Recognize a Carbohydrate Receptor on the Host Cell Surface

Lactococcal bacteriophages represent one of the leading causes of dairy fermentation failure and product inconsistencies. A new member of the lactococcal 949 phage group, named WRP3, was isolated from cheese whey from a Sicilian factory in 2011. The genome sequence of this phage was determined, and it constitutes the largest lactococcal phage genome currently known, at 130,008 bp. Detailed bioinformatic analysis of the genomic region encoding the presumed initiator complex and baseplate of WRP3 has aided in the functional assignment of several open reading frames (ORFs), particularly that for the receptor binding protein required for host recognition. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the 949 phages target cell wall phospho-polysaccharides as their receptors, accounting for the specificity of the interactions of these phages with their lactococcal hosts. Such information may ultimately aid in the identification of strains/strain blends that do not present the necessary saccharidic target for infection by these problematic phages.     

Complete Genome Sequence of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteriophage GH15

GH15 is a polyvalent phage that shows activity against a wide range of Staphylococcus aureus strains. In this work, the complete genome sequence of GH15 was determined. With a genome size of 139,806 bp (double-stranded DNA), GH15 is the largest staphylococcal phage sequenced to date. The complete genome encodes 214 open reading frames (ORFs) and 4 tRNAs. The closest relatives are the class III staphylococcal myobacteriophages, including K, A5W, ISP, Sb-1, and G1. Interestingly, although corresponding gene sequences demonstrate very high similarity, all the introns and inteins present in the phages listed above are absent in GH15. As such, GH15 can be considered phylogenetically unique among the staphylococcal myobacteriophages, indicating the diversity of this family.     

Complete Genome Sequence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Bacteriophage vB_VpaM_MAR

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a major pathogen that is mainly associated with seafood and is a global food safety issue. Our objective was to isolate and completely sequence a specific phage against this bacterium. Phage vB_VpaM_MAR is able to lyse 76% of the V. parahaemolyticus strains tested. MAR belongs to the Myoviridae family and has a genome comprised of double-stranded DNA with a size of 41,351 bp, a G+C content of 51.3%, and 62 open reading frames (ORFs). Bioinformatic analysis showed that phage MAR is closely related to Vibrio phages VHML, VP58.5, and VP882 and Halomonas aquamarina phage ΦHAP-1.