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Hassim A, Lekota KE. Isolation of Bacteriophages from Soil Samples in a Poorly Equipped Field Laboratory in Kruger National Park. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2738:91-103. [PMID: 37966593 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3549-0_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. Bacteriophages are ubiquitous and are the most abundant organisms on the planet. Despite this, very little is known about the influence and effect of bacteriophages within terrestrial environments. Additionally, the natural soil microbiome profiles remain largely unexplored. Here we describe protocols that can be used, in field or rural laboratories containing only basic equipment, to make bacteriophage isolation more accessible and to facilitate such research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayesha Hassim
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Kgaugelo Edward Lekota
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Microbiology, North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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2
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Schwartz DA, Lehmkuhl BK, Lennon JT. Phage-Encoded Sigma Factors Alter Bacterial Dormancy. mSphere 2022; 7:e0029722. [PMID: 35856690 PMCID: PMC9429907 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00297-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
By entering a reversible state of reduced metabolic activity, dormant microorganisms are able to tolerate suboptimal conditions that would otherwise reduce their fitness. Dormancy may also benefit bacteria by serving as a refuge from parasitic infections. Here, we focus on dormancy in the Bacillota, where endospore development is transcriptionally regulated by the expression of sigma factors. A disruption of this process could influence the survivorship or reproduction of phages that infect spore-forming hosts with implications for coevolutionary dynamics. We characterized the distribution of sigma factors in over 4,000 genomes of diverse phages capable of infecting hosts that span the bacterial domain. From this, we identified homologs of sporulation-specific sigma factors in phages that infect spore-forming hosts. Unlike sigma factors required for phage reproduction, we provide evidence that sporulation-like sigma factors are nonessential for lytic infection. However, when expressed in the spore-forming Bacillus subtilis, some of these phage-derived sigma factors can activate the bacterial sporulation gene network and lead to a reduction in spore yield. Our findings suggest that the acquisition of host-like transcriptional regulators may allow phages to manipulate a complex and ancient trait in one of the most abundant cell types on Earth. IMPORTANCE As obligate parasites, phages exert strong top-down pressure on host populations with eco-evolutionary implications for community dynamics and ecosystem functioning. The process of phage infection, however, is constrained by bottom-up processes that influence the energetic and nutritional status of susceptible hosts. Many phages have acquired auxiliary genes from bacteria, which can be used to exploit host metabolism with consequences for phage fitness. In this study, we demonstrate that phages infecting spore-forming bacteria carry homologs of sigma factors, which their hosts use to orchestrate gene expression during spore development. By tapping into regulatory gene networks, phages may manipulate the physiology and survival strategies of nongrowing bacteria in ways that influence host-parasite coevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. A. Schwartz
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - B. K. Lehmkuhl
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - J. T. Lennon
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
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3
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Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of the new Bacillus cereus phage SWEP1. Arch Virol 2021; 166:3183-3188. [PMID: 34505918 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-021-05222-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
A new Bacillus cereus phage, SWEP1, was isolated from black soil. The host lysis activity of phage SWEP1 has a relatively short latent time (20 min) and a small burst size of 83 PFU. The genome of SWEP1 consists of 162,461 bp with 37.77% G+C content. The phage encodes 278 predicted proteins, 103 of which were assigned functionally. No tRNA genes were found. Comparative genomics analysis indicated that SWEP1 is related to Bacillus phage B4 (86.91% identity, 90% query coverage). Phenotypic and genotypic characterization suggested that SWEP1 is a new member of a new species in the genus Bequatrovirus, family Herelleviridae.
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4
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Nazir A, Dong Z, Liu J, Tahir RA, Ashraf N, Qing H, Peng D, Tong Y. Isolation, Characterization, and Genome Sequence Analysis of a Novel Lytic Phage, Xoo-sp15 Infecting Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Curr Microbiol 2021; 78:3192-3200. [PMID: 34213617 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-021-02556-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (X. oryzae) is a bacterial pathovar of rice diseases all over the world. Owing to emerging antibacterial resistance, phage therapies have gained significant attention to treat various bacterial infections. Nevertheless, comprehensive research is needed for their use as a safe biocontrol agent. In this study, isolation and characterization of a novel phage Xoo-sp15, that infects X. oryzae was ascertained through experimental and bioinformatics analyses to determine its virulent potency and reliability. High throughput sequencing demonstrated that Xoo-sp15 has a dsDNA genome with a total size of 157,091 bp and 39.9% GC content lower than its host (63.6%). Morphological and phylogenetic analyses characterized it as a new member of the Bastille-like group within the family Herelleviridae. In silico analysis revealed that it contains 229 open reading frames and 16 tRNAs. Additionally, this novel phage does not contain any resistant determinants and can infect nine X. oryzae strains. Therefore, Xoo-sp15 has the potential to serve as a novel candidate for phage therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amina Nazir
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Zhaoxia Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Jin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Rana Adnan Tahir
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University, Sahiwal Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Neelma Ashraf
- Industrial Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Constitute College of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Hong Qing
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.
| | - Donghai Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yigang Tong
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
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5
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Steczkiewicz K, Prestel E, Bidnenko E, Szczepankowska AK. Expanding Diversity of Firmicutes Single-Strand Annealing Proteins: A Putative Role of Bacteriophage-Host Arms Race. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:644622. [PMID: 33959107 PMCID: PMC8093625 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.644622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophage-encoded single strand annealing proteins (SSAPs) are recombinases which can substitute the classical, bacterial RecA and manage the DNA metabolism at different steps of phage propagation. SSAPs have been shown to efficiently promote recombination between short and rather divergent DNA sequences and were exploited for in vivo genetic engineering mainly in Gram-negative bacteria. In opposition to the conserved and almost universal bacterial RecA protein, SSAPs display great sequence diversity. The importance for SSAPs in phage biology and phage-bacteria evolution is underlined by their role as key players in events of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). All of the above provoke a constant interest for the identification and study of new phage recombinase proteins in vivo, in vitro as well as in silico. Despite this, a huge body of putative ssap genes escapes conventional classification, as they are not properly annotated. In this work, we performed a wide-scale identification, classification and analysis of SSAPs encoded by the Firmicutes bacteria and their phages. By using sequence similarity network and gene context analyses, we created a new high quality dataset of phage-related SSAPs, substantially increasing the number of annotated SSAPs. We classified the identified SSAPs into seven distinct families, namely RecA, Gp2.5, RecT/Redβ, Erf, Rad52/22, Sak3, and Sak4, organized into three superfamilies. Analysis of the relationships between the revealed protein clusters led us to recognize Sak3-like proteins as a new distinct SSAP family. Our analysis showed an irregular phylogenetic distribution of ssap genes among different bacterial phyla and specific phages, which can be explained by the high rates of ssap HGT. We propose that the evolution of phage recombinases could be tightly linked to the dissemination of bacterial phage-resistance mechanisms (e.g., abortive infection and CRISPR/Cas systems) targeting ssap genes and be a part of the constant phage-bacteria arms race.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eric Prestel
- Micalis Institute, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Elena Bidnenko
- Micalis Institute, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
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6
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Pfeifer E, Moura de Sousa JA, Touchon M, Rocha EPC. Bacteria have numerous distinctive groups of phage-plasmids with conserved phage and variable plasmid gene repertoires. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:2655-2673. [PMID: 33590101 PMCID: PMC7969092 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasmids and temperate phages are key contributors to bacterial evolution. They are usually regarded as very distinct. However, some elements, termed phage–plasmids, are known to be both plasmids and phages, e.g. P1, N15 or SSU5. The number, distribution, relatedness and characteristics of these phage–plasmids are poorly known. Here, we screened for these elements among ca. 2500 phages and 12000 plasmids and identified 780 phage–plasmids across very diverse bacterial phyla. We grouped 92% of them by similarity of gene repertoires to eight defined groups and 18 other broader communities of elements. The existence of these large groups suggests that phage–plasmids are ancient. Their gene repertoires are large, the average element is larger than an average phage or plasmid, and they include slightly more homologs to phages than to plasmids. We analyzed the pangenomes and the genetic organization of each group of phage–plasmids and found the key phage genes to be conserved and co-localized within distinct groups, whereas genes with homologs in plasmids are much more variable and include most accessory genes. Phage–plasmids are a sizeable fraction of the sequenced plasmids (∼7%) and phages (∼5%), and could have key roles in bridging the genetic divide between phages and other mobile genetic elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugen Pfeifer
- Microbial Evolutionary Genomics, Institut Pasteur, CNRS, UMR3525, Paris 75015, France
| | | | - Marie Touchon
- Microbial Evolutionary Genomics, Institut Pasteur, CNRS, UMR3525, Paris 75015, France
| | - Eduardo P C Rocha
- Microbial Evolutionary Genomics, Institut Pasteur, CNRS, UMR3525, Paris 75015, France
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Li C, Yuan X, Li N, Wang J, Yu S, Zeng H, Zhang J, Wu Q, Ding Y. Isolation and Characterization of Bacillus cereus Phage vB_BceP-DLc1 Reveals the Largest Member of the Φ29-Like Phages. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1750. [PMID: 33171789 PMCID: PMC7695010 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8111750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2020] [Revised: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacillus phage φ29 and its relatives have been considered as one of the most important model organisms for DNA replication, transcription, morphogenesis, DNA packaging studies, and nanotechnology applications. Here, we isolated and characterized a new member of the φ29-like phage, named Bacillus cereus phage vB_BceP-DLc1. This phage, with a unique inserted gene cluster, has the largest genome among known φ29-like phages. DLc1 can use the surface carbohydrate structures of the host cell as receptors and only infects the most related B. cereus strains, showing high host-specificity. The adsorption rate constant and life cycle of DLc1 under experimental conditions were also determined. Not only stable under temperatures below 55 °C and pH range from 5 to 11, the new phage also showed tolerance to high concentrations of NaCl, 75% ethanol, chloroform, and mechanical vortex, which is preferable for practical use in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun Li
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, College of Science & Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; (C.L.); (X.Y.); (N.L.)
| | - Xiaoming Yuan
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, College of Science & Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; (C.L.); (X.Y.); (N.L.)
- College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China; (S.Y.); (H.Z.); (J.Z.); (Q.W.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Na Li
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, College of Science & Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; (C.L.); (X.Y.); (N.L.)
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China; (S.Y.); (H.Z.); (J.Z.); (Q.W.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Juan Wang
- College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China;
| | - Shubo Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China; (S.Y.); (H.Z.); (J.Z.); (Q.W.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Haiyan Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China; (S.Y.); (H.Z.); (J.Z.); (Q.W.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Jumei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China; (S.Y.); (H.Z.); (J.Z.); (Q.W.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Qingping Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China; (S.Y.); (H.Z.); (J.Z.); (Q.W.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Yu Ding
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, College of Science & Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; (C.L.); (X.Y.); (N.L.)
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China; (S.Y.); (H.Z.); (J.Z.); (Q.W.)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
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8
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Dakheel KH, Rahim RA, Neela VK, Al-Obaidi JR, Hun TG, Isa MNM, Yusoff K. Genomic analyses of two novel biofilm-degrading methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus phages. BMC Microbiol 2019; 19:114. [PMID: 31138130 PMCID: PMC6540549 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-019-1484-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilm producers represent an important etiological agent of many chronic human infections. Antibiotics and host immune responses are largely ineffective against bacteria within biofilms. Alternative actions and novel antimicrobials should be considered. In this context, the use of phages to destroy MRSA biofilms presents an innovative alternative mechanism. Results Twenty-five MRSA biofilm producers were used as substrates to isolate MRSA-specific phages. Despite the difficulties in obtaining an isolate of this phage, two phages (UPMK_1 and UPMK_2) were isolated. Both phages varied in their ability to produce halos around their plaques, host infectivity, one-step growth curves, and electron microscopy features. Furthermore, both phages demonstrated antagonistic infectivity on planktonic cultures. This was validated in an in vitro static biofilm assay (in microtiter-plates), followed by the visualization of the biofilm architecture in situ via confocal laser scanning microscopy before and after phage infection, and further supported by phages genome analysis. The UPMK_1 genome comprised 152,788 bp coding for 155 putative open reading frames (ORFs), and its genome characteristics were between the Myoviridae and Siphoviridae family, though the morphological features confined it more to the Siphoviridae family. The UPMK_2 has 40,955 bp with 62 putative ORFs; morphologically, it presented the features of the Podoviridae though its genome did not show similarity with any of the S. aureus in the Podoviridae family. Both phages possess lytic enzymes that were associated with a high ability to degrade biofilms as shown in the microtiter plate and CLSM analyses. Conclusions The present work addressed the possibility of using phages as potential biocontrol agents for biofilm-producing MRSA. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12866-019-1484-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khulood Hamid Dakheel
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.,Department of Biology, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Palestine Street, PO Box 14022, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Raha Abdul Rahim
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.,Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Vasantha Kumari Neela
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Jameel R Al-Obaidi
- Agro-biotechnology Institute Malaysia (ABI), c/o MARDI Headquarters, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Tan Geok Hun
- Department of Agriculture Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Mohd Noor Mat Isa
- Malaysia Genome Institute (MGI), Jalan Bangi, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Khatijah Yusoff
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. .,Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
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9
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Global In-Silico Scenario of tRNA Genes and Their Organization in Virus Genomes. Viruses 2019; 11:v11020180. [PMID: 30795514 PMCID: PMC6409571 DOI: 10.3390/v11020180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Revised: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Viruses are known to be highly dependent on the host translation machinery for their protein synthesis. However, tRNA genes are occasionally identified in such organisms, and in addition, few of them harbor tRNA gene clusters comprising dozens of genes. Recently, tRNA gene clusters have been shown to occur among the three domains of life. In such a scenario, the viruses could play a role in the dispersion of such structures among these organisms. Thus, in order to reveal the prevalence of tRNA genes as well as tRNA gene clusters in viruses, we performed an unbiased large-scale genome survey. Interestingly, tRNA genes were predicted in ssDNA (single-stranded DNA) and ssRNA (single-stranded RNA) viruses as well in many other dsDNA viruses of families from Caudovirales order. In the latter group, tRNA gene clusters composed of 15 to 37 tRNA genes were characterized, mainly in bacteriophages, enlarging the occurrence of such structures within viruses. These bacteriophages were from hosts that encompass five phyla and 34 genera. This in-silico study presents the current global scenario of tRNA genes and their organization in virus genomes, contributing and opening questions to be explored in further studies concerning the role of the translation apparatus in these organisms.
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10
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Sharaf A, Oborník M, Hammad A, El-Afifi S, Marei E. Characterization and comparative genomic analysis of virulent and temperate Bacillus megaterium bacteriophages. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5687. [PMID: 30581654 PMCID: PMC6292376 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies provide unique possibilities for the comprehensive assessment of the environmental diversity of bacteriophages. Several Bacillus bacteriophages have been isolated, but very few Bacillus megaterium bacteriophages have been characterized. In this study, we describe the biological characteristics, whole genome sequences, and annotations for two new isolates of the B. megaterium bacteriophages (BM5 and BM10), which were isolated from Egyptian soil samples. Growth analyses indicated that the phages BM5 and BM10 have a shorter latent period (25 and 30 min, respectively) and a smaller burst size (103 and 117 PFU, respectively), in comparison to what is typical for Bacillus phages. The genome sizes of the phages BM5 and BM10 were 165,031 bp and 165,213 bp, respectively, with modular organization. Bioinformatic analyses of these genomes enabled the assignment of putative functions to 97 and 65 putative ORFs, respectively. Comparative analysis of the BM5 and BM10 genome structures, in conjunction with other B. megaterium bacteriophages, revealed relatively high levels of sequence and organizational identity. Both genomic comparisons and phylogenetic analyses support the conclusion that the sequenced phages (BM5 and BM10) belong to different sub-clusters (L5 and L7, respectively), within the L-cluster, and display different lifestyles (lysogenic and lytic, respectively). Moreover, sequenced phages encode proteins associated with Bacillus pathogenesis. In addition, BM5 does not contain any tRNA sequences, whereas BM10 genome codes for 17 tRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdoallah Sharaf
- Genetic Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Oborník
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Adel Hammad
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University, Minia, Egypt
| | - Sohair El-Afifi
- Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Virology Laboratory, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Eman Marei
- Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Virology Laboratory, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
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11
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Xie Y, Wahab L, Gill JJ. Development and Validation of a Microtiter Plate-Based Assay for Determination of Bacteriophage Host Range and Virulence. Viruses 2018; 10:E189. [PMID: 29649135 PMCID: PMC5923483 DOI: 10.3390/v10040189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Revised: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages, which are the natural predators of bacteria, have re-emerged as an attractive alternative to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria. Phages are highly specific at the species and strain level and measurement of the phage host range plays an important role in utilizing the phage as antimicrobials. The most common method for phage host range determination has been to spot phage lysates on soft agar overlays and observe plaque formation. In this study, a liquid culture-based assay was developed in a 96-well microtiter plate format to measure the phage host range and virulence for a collection of 15 Salmonella phages against a panel of 20 Salmonella strains representing 11 serovars. This method was compared to a traditional spot method. The majority of the host range results from two methods were in agreement including in cases where a bacterial strain was insensitive to the phage. Each method produced a false-negative result in 19/300 (6%) of the measured phage-host combinations when compared to the other method. The spot method tended to indicate greater phage sensitivity than the microtiter assay even though direct comparisons of the response magnitude between the two methods is difficult since they operate on different mechanisms. The microtiter plate assay was able to provide data on both the phage host range and virulence in greater resolution in a high-throughput format.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yicheng Xie
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
| | - Laith Wahab
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
- Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
| | - Jason J Gill
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
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12
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Oh H, Seo DJ, Jeon SB, Park H, Jeong S, Chun HS, Oh M, Choi C. Isolation and Characterization of Bacillus cereus Bacteriophages from Foods and Soil. FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIROLOGY 2017; 9:260-269. [PMID: 28205130 DOI: 10.1007/s12560-017-9284-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize Bacillus cereus bacteriophages of various origins. Twenty-seven bacteriophages against B. cereus were isolated from various Korean traditional fermented foods and soils. Plaque size, transmission electron microscopy, virulence profile, and in vitro lytic activity of bacteriophage isolates were examined. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed B. cereus bacteriophages belonging to the family Siphoviridae. Among B. cereus bacteriophages with broad host range, 18 isolates (66.7%) did not harbor any B. cereus virulence factors. Among them, bacteriophage strain CAU150036, CAU150038, CAU150058, CAU150064, CAU150065, and CAU150066 effectively inhibited B. cereus in vitro within 1 h. Therefore, they are considered potential candidates for controlling the contamination of B. cereus in food or other applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyejin Oh
- Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Biotechnology and Agriculture Resource, Chung-Ang University, Seodongdaero, Daeduck, Anseong, Gyeonggi, 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Joo Seo
- Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Biotechnology and Agriculture Resource, Chung-Ang University, Seodongdaero, Daeduck, Anseong, Gyeonggi, 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Su Been Jeon
- Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Biotechnology and Agriculture Resource, Chung-Ang University, Seodongdaero, Daeduck, Anseong, Gyeonggi, 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyunkyung Park
- Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Biotechnology and Agriculture Resource, Chung-Ang University, Seodongdaero, Daeduck, Anseong, Gyeonggi, 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Suntak Jeong
- Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Biotechnology and Agriculture Resource, Chung-Ang University, Seodongdaero, Daeduck, Anseong, Gyeonggi, 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyang Sook Chun
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Biotechnology and Agriculture Resource, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Gyeonggi, 17546, Republic of Korea
| | - Mihwa Oh
- National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 54875, Republic of Korea
| | - Changsun Choi
- Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Biotechnology and Agriculture Resource, Chung-Ang University, Seodongdaero, Daeduck, Anseong, Gyeonggi, 17546, Republic of Korea.
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13
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Abstract
We report here the genome sequences of two bacteriophages of the Bacillus cereus group, DirtyBetty and Kida. These bacteriophages are double-stranded DNA-containing Myoviridae isolated from soil samples using Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki as their host bacteria.
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14
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Cui Z, Guo X, Dong K, Zhang Y, Li Q, Zhu Y, Zeng L, Tang R, Li L. Safety assessment of Staphylococcus phages of the family Myoviridae based on complete genome sequences. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41259. [PMID: 28117392 PMCID: PMC5259776 DOI: 10.1038/srep41259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Staphylococcus phages of the Myoviridae family have a wide host range and potential applications in phage therapy. In this report, safety assessments of these phages were conducted based on their complete genome sequences. The complete genomes of Staphylococcus phages of the Myoviridae family were analyzed, and the Open Reading Frame (ORFs) were compared with a pool of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes using the BLAST algorithm. In addition, the lifestyle of the phages (virulent or temperate) was also confirmed using PHACTS. The results showed that all phages were lytic and did not contain resistance or virulence genes based on bioinformatic analyses, excluding the possibility that they could be vectors for the dissemination of these undesirable genes. These findings suggest that the phages are safe at the genome level. The SceD-like transglycosylase, which is a biomarker for vancomycin-intermediate strains, was widely distributed in the phage genomes. Approximately 70% of the ORFs encoded in the phage genomes have unknown functions; therefore, their roles in the antibiotic resistance and virulence of Staphylococcus aureus are still unknown and require consideration before use in phage therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zelin Cui
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200080, China
| | - Xiaokui Guo
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Ke Dong
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Qingtian Li
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Yongzhang Zhu
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Lingbing Zeng
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Rong Tang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200080, China
| | - Li Li
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200080, China
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15
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Hock L, Gillis A, Mahillon J. Complete Genome Sequence of Bacteriophage Deep-Blue Infecting Emetic Bacillus cereus. GENOME ANNOUNCEMENTS 2016; 4:e00115-16. [PMID: 27313285 PMCID: PMC4911464 DOI: 10.1128/genomea.00115-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The Bacillus cereus emetic pathotype is responsible for important food-borne intoxications. Here, we describe the complete genome sequence of bacteriophage Deep-Blue, which is able to infect emetic strains of B. cereus Deep-Blue is a 159-kb myophage of the Bastille-like group within the Spounavirinae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Hock
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Annika Gillis
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Jacques Mahillon
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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16
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Qin K, Cheng B, Zhang S, Wang N, Fang Y, Zhang Q, Kuang A, Lin L, Ji X, Wei Y. Complete genome sequence of the cold-active bacteriophage VMY22 from Bacillus cereus. Virus Genes 2016; 52:432-5. [PMID: 26941234 DOI: 10.1007/s11262-016-1300-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2015] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The cold-active bacteriophage VMY22, belonging to the Podoviridae family, was isolated from Mingyong Glacier in China. Sequence analysis revealed that the genome is 18,609 bp long, with an overall G + C content of 36.4 mol%, and 25 open reading frames (ORFs). The sequence contains 46 potential promoters, 6 transcription terminators, and no tRNAs. Most of the ORFs show a high degree of similarity to B103 (NC_004165). Two noteworthy findings were made. First, one of the predicted proteins, ORF 19, shows high sequence similarity to the bacteriocin biosynthesis protein from Bacillus cereus. From this information, we propose that the VMY22 phage is at an intermediate phase in its coevolution with its bacterial host. Second, seven of the hypothetical proteins appear to be unique to this cold-active B. cereus phage (i.e., not found in temperate-active B. cereus phages). These observations add to our current knowledge about the coevolution of bacteriophages and their hosts. The identification of a novel group of gene and protein structures and functions will lead to a better understanding of cold-adaptation mechanisms in bacteria and their bacteriophages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunhao Qin
- Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China.,Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Benxu Cheng
- Regional Academic Heath Center, School of Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, 78541, USA
| | - Shengting Zhang
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Nan Wang
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Yuan Fang
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Anxiu Kuang
- Department of Biology, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA
| | - Lianbing Lin
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Xiuling Ji
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China.
| | - Yunlin Wei
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China.
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17
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Genomic characterization and comparison of seven Myoviridae bacteriophage infecting Bacillus thuringiensis. Virology 2016; 489:243-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2015.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2015] [Revised: 08/02/2015] [Accepted: 12/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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18
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Asare PT, Jeong TY, Ryu S, Klumpp J, Loessner MJ, Merrill BD, Kim KP. Putative type 1 thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase as signature genes of a novel Bastille-like group of phages in the subfamily Spounavirinae. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:582. [PMID: 26250905 PMCID: PMC4528723 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1757-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Spounavirinae viruses have received an increasing interest as tools for the control of harmful bacteria due to their relatively broad host range and strictly virulent phenotype. Results In this study, we collected and analyzed the complete genome sequences of 61 published phages, either ICTV-classified or candidate members of the Spounavirinae subfamily of the Myoviridae. A set of comparative analyses identified a distinct, recently proposed Bastille-like phage group within the Spounavirinae. More importantly, type 1 thymidylate synthase (TS1) and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) genes were shown to be unique for the members of the proposed Bastille-like phage group, and are suitable as molecular markers. We also show that the members of this group encode beta-lactamase and/or sporulation-related SpoIIIE homologs, possibly questioning their suitability as biocontrol agents. Conclusions We confirm the creation of a new genus—the “Bastille-like group”—in Spounavirinae, and propose that the presence of TS1- and DHFR-encoding genes could serve as signatures for the new Bastille-like group. In addition, the presence of metallo-beta-lactamase and/or SpoIIIE homologs in all members of Bastille-like group phages makes questionable their suitability for use in biocontrol. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1757-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Tetteh Asare
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 561-756, Korea.
| | - Tae-Yong Jeong
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 561-756, Korea.
| | - Sangryeol Ryu
- Department of Food and Animal Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. .,Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. .,Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
| | - Jochen Klumpp
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Martin J Loessner
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Bryan D Merrill
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
| | - Kwang-Pyo Kim
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 561-756, Korea.
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19
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Asare PT, Bandara N, Jeong TY, Ryu S, Klumpp J, Kim KP. Complete genome sequence analysis and identification of putative metallo-beta-lactamase and SpoIIIE homologs in Bacillus cereus group phage BCP8-2, a new member of the proposed Bastille-like group. Arch Virol 2015; 160:2647-50. [PMID: 26234184 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-015-2548-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Bacillus cereus group-specific bacteriophage BCP8-2 exhibits a broad lysis spectrum among food and human isolates (330/364) of B. cereus while not infecting B. subtilis (50) or B. licheniformis (12) strains. Its genome is 159,071 bp long with 220 open reading frames, including genes for putative methyltransferases, metallo-beta-lactamase, and a sporulation-related SpoIIIE homolog, as wells as 18 tRNAs. Comparative genome analysis showed that BCP8-2 is related to the recently proposed Bastille-like phages, but not with either SPO1-like or Twort-like phages of the subfamily Spounavirinae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Tetteh Asare
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 561-756, Korea
| | - Nadeeka Bandara
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 561-756, Korea
| | - Tae-Yong Jeong
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 561-756, Korea
| | - Sangryeol Ryu
- Department of Food and Animal Biotechnology, Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.,Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jochen Klumpp
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Kwang-Pyo Kim
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, 561-756, Korea.
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20
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Nakonieczna A, Cooper CJ, Gryko R. Bacteriophages and bacteriophage-derived endolysins as potential therapeutics to combat Gram-positive spore forming bacteria. J Appl Microbiol 2015; 119:620-31. [PMID: 26109320 DOI: 10.1111/jam.12881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2015] [Revised: 05/28/2015] [Accepted: 06/11/2015] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Since their discovery in 1915, bacteriophages have been routinely used within Eastern Europe to treat a variety of bacterial infections. Although initially ignored by the West due to the success of antibiotics, increasing levels and diversity of antibiotic resistance is driving a renaissance for bacteriophage-derived therapy, which is in part due to the highly specific nature of bacteriophages as well as their relative abundance. This review focuses on the bacteriophages and derived lysins of relevant Gram-positive spore formers within the Bacillus cereus group and Clostridium genus that could have applications within the medical, food and environmental sectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Nakonieczna
- Biological Threats Identification and Countermeasure Center of the Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pulawy, Poland
| | - C J Cooper
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - R Gryko
- Biological Threats Identification and Countermeasure Center of the Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pulawy, Poland
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21
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Complete genome sequence and phylogenetic position of the Bacillus cereus group phage JBP901. Arch Virol 2015; 160:2381-4. [PMID: 26141410 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-015-2485-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2014] [Accepted: 06/09/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriophage JBP901, isolated from fermented food, is specific for Bacillus cereus group species and exhibits a broad host spectrum among a large number of B. cereus isolates. Genome sequence analysis revealed a linear 159,492-bp genome with overall G+C content of 39.7 mol%, and 201 ORFs. The presence of a putative methylase, the large number of tRNAs, and the large number of nucleotide-metabolism- and replication-related genes in JBP901 reflects its broad lytic capacity. Most of the ORFs showed a high degree of similarity to Bcp1, Bc431v3 and BCP78, and various comparative genomics analyses also consistently clustered JBP901 with orphan (unclassified) Bacillus phages in the subfamily Spounavirinae of the family Myoviridae, supporting the presence of a distinguishable group in the subfamily.
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22
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Ji X, Zhang C, Fang Y, Zhang Q, Lin L, Tang B, Wei Y. Isolation and characterization of glacier VMY22, a novel lytic cold-active bacteriophage of Bacillus cereus. Virol Sin 2015; 30:52-8. [PMID: 25680445 DOI: 10.1007/s12250-014-3529-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2014] [Accepted: 01/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
As a unique ecological system with low temperature and low nutrient levels, glaciers are considered a "living fossil" for the research of evolution. In this work, a lytic cold-active bacteriophage designated VMY22 against Bacillus cereus MYB41-22 was isolated from Mingyong Glacier in China, and its characteristics were studied. Electron microscopy revealed that VMY22 has an icosahedral head (59.2 nm in length, 31.9 nm in width) and a tail (43.2 nm in length). Bacteriophage VMY22 was classified as a Podoviridae with an approximate genome size of 18 to 20 kb. A one-step growth curve revealed that the latent and the burst periods were 70 and 70 min, respectively, with an average burst size of 78 bacteriophage particles per infected cell. The pH and thermal stability of bacteriophage VMY22 were also investigated. The maximum stability of the bacteriophage was observed to be at pH 8.0 and it was comparatively stable at pH 5.0-9.0. As VMY22 is a cold-active bacteriophage with low production temperature, its characterization and the relationship between MYB41-22 and Bacillus cereus bacteriophage deserve further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuling Ji
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China
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23
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Bacteriophage PBC1 and its endolysin as an antimicrobial agent against Bacillus cereus. Appl Environ Microbiol 2015; 81:2274-83. [PMID: 25595773 DOI: 10.1128/aem.03485-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus cereus is an opportunistic human pathogen responsible for food poisoning and other, nongastrointestinal infections. Due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant B. cereus strains, the demand for alternative therapeutic options is increasing. To address these problems, we isolated and characterized a Siphoviridae virulent phage, PBC1, and its lytic enzymes. PBC1 showed a very narrow host range, infecting only 1 of 22 B. cereus strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on the major capsid protein revealed that PBC1 is more closely related to the Bacillus clarkii phage BCJA1c and phages of lactic acid bacteria than to the phages infecting B. cereus. Whole-genome comparison showed that the late-gene region, including the terminase gene, structural genes, and holin gene of PBC1, is similar to that from B. cereus temperate phage 250, whereas their endolysins are different. Compared to the extreme host specificity of PBC1, its endolysin, LysPBC1, showed a much broader lytic spectrum, albeit limited to the genus Bacillus. The catalytic domain of LysPBC1 when expressed alone also showed Bacillus-specific lytic activity, which was lower against the B. cereus group but higher against the Bacillus subtilis group than the full-length protein. Taken together, these results suggest that the virulent phage PBC1 is a useful component of a phage cocktail to control B. cereus, even with its exceptionally narrow host range, as it can kill a strain of B. cereus that is not killed by other phages, and that LysPBC1 is an alternative biocontrol agent against B. cereus.
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24
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Grose JH, Jensen GL, Burnett SH, Breakwell DP. Correction: genomic comparison of 93 Bacillus phages reveals 12 clusters, 14 singletons and remarkable diversity. BMC Genomics 2014; 15:1184. [PMID: 25547158 PMCID: PMC4464726 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-1184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2014] [Accepted: 12/04/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Bacillus genus of Firmicutes bacteria is ubiquitous in nature and includes one of the best characterized model organisms, B. subtilis, as well as medically significant human pathogens, the most notorious being B. anthracis and B. cereus. As the most abundant living entities on the planet, bacteriophages are known to heavily influence the ecology and evolution of their hosts, including providing virulence factors. Thus, the identification and analysis of Bacillus phages is critical to understanding the evolution of Bacillus species, including pathogenic strains. RESULTS Whole genome nucleotide and proteome comparison of the 83 extant, fully sequenced Bacillus phages revealed 10 distinct clusters, 24 subclusters and 15 singleton phages. Host analysis of these clusters supports host boundaries at the subcluster level and suggests phages as vectors for genetic transfer within the Bacillus cereus group, with B. anthracis as a distant member. Analysis of the proteins conserved among these phages reveals enormous diversity and the uncharacterized nature of these phages, with a total of 4,442 protein families (phams) of which only 894 (20%) had a predicted function. In addition, 2,583 (58%) of phams were orphams (phams containing a single member). The most populated phams were those encoding proteins involved in DNA metabolism, virion structure and assembly, cell lysis, or host function. These included several genes that may contribute to the pathogenicity of Bacillus strains. CONCLUSIONS This analysis provides a basis for understanding and characterizing Bacillus and other related phages as well as their contributions to the evolution and pathogenicity of Bacillus cereus group bacteria. The presence of sparsely populated clusters, the high ratio of singletons to clusters, and the large number of uncharacterized, conserved proteins confirms the need for more Bacillus phage isolation in order to understand the full extent of their diversity as well as their impact on host evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julianne H Grose
- Microbiology and Molecular Biology Department, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
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25
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Endersen L, Guinane CM, Johnston C, Neve H, Coffey A, Ross RP, McAuliffe O, O'Mahony J. Genome analysis of Cronobacter phage vB_CsaP_Ss1 reveals an endolysin with potential for biocontrol of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. J Gen Virol 2014; 96:463-477. [PMID: 25371517 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.068494-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages and their derivatives are continuously gaining impetus as viable alternative therapeutic agents to control harmful multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens, particularly in the food industry. The reduced efficacy of conventional antibiotics has resulted in a quest to find novel alternatives in the war against infectious disease. This study describes the full-genome sequence of Cronobacter phage vB_CsaP_Ss1, with subsequent cloning and expression of its endolysin, capable of hydrolysing Gram-negative peptidoglycan. Cronobacter phage vB_CsaP_Ss1 is composed of 42 205 bp of dsDNA with a G+C content of 46.1 mol%. A total of 57 ORFs were identified of which 18 could be assigned a putative function based on similarity to characterized proteins. The genome of Cronobacter phage vB_CsaP_Ss1 showed little similarity to any other bacteriophage genomes available in the database and thus was considered unique. In addition, functional analysis of the predicted endolysin (LysSs1) was also investigated. Zymographic experiments demonstrated the hydrolytic activity of LysSs1 against Gram-negative peptidoglycan, and this endolysin thus represents a novel candidate with potential for use against Gram-negative pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorraine Endersen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland
| | - Caitriona M Guinane
- Biotechnology Department, Teagasc, Moorepark Food Research Centre, Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland
| | | | - Horst Neve
- Department of Microbiology, Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Hermann-Weigmann-Strasse 1, Kiel, Germany
| | - Aidan Coffey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland
| | - R Paul Ross
- Biotechnology Department, Teagasc, Moorepark Food Research Centre, Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland
| | - Olivia McAuliffe
- Biotechnology Department, Teagasc, Moorepark Food Research Centre, Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland
| | - Jim O'Mahony
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland
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26
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Genomic comparison of 93 Bacillus phages reveals 12 clusters, 14 singletons and remarkable diversity. BMC Genomics 2014; 15:855. [PMID: 25280881 PMCID: PMC4197329 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2014] [Accepted: 09/24/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The Bacillus genus of Firmicutes bacteria is ubiquitous in nature and includes one of the best characterized model organisms, B. subtilis, as well as medically significant human pathogens, the most notorious being B. anthracis and B. cereus. As the most abundant living entities on the planet, bacteriophages are known to heavily influence the ecology and evolution of their hosts, including providing virulence factors. Thus, the identification and analysis of Bacillus phages is critical to understanding the evolution of Bacillus species, including pathogenic strains. Results Whole genome nucleotide and proteome comparison of the 93 extant Bacillus phages revealed 12 distinct clusters, 28 subclusters and 14 singleton phages. Host analysis of these clusters supports host boundaries at the subcluster level and suggests phages as vectors for genetic transfer within the Bacillus cereus group, with B. anthracis as a distant member of the group. Analysis of the proteins conserved among these phages reveals enormous diversity and the uncharacterized nature of these phages, with a total of 4,922 protein families (phams) of which only 951 (19%) had a predicted function. In addition, 3,058 (62%) of phams were orphams (phams containing a gene product from a single phage). The most populated phams were those encoding proteins involved in DNA metabolism, virion structure and assembly, cell lysis, or host function. These included several genes that may contribute to the pathogenicity of Bacillus strains. Conclusions This analysis provides a basis for understanding and characterizing Bacillus phages and other related phages as well as their contributions to the evolution and pathogenicity of Bacillus cereus group bacteria. The presence of sparsely populated clusters, the high ratio of singletons to clusters, and the large number of uncharacterized, conserved proteins confirms the need for more Bacillus phage isolation in order to understand the full extent of their diversity as well as their impact on host evolution.
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Jończyk-Matysiak E, Kłak M, Weber-Dąbrowska B, Borysowski J, Górski A. Possible use of bacteriophages active against Bacillus anthracis and other B. cereus group members in the face of a bioterrorism threat. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2014; 2014:735413. [PMID: 25247187 PMCID: PMC4163355 DOI: 10.1155/2014/735413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Revised: 06/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Anthrax is an infectious fatal disease with epidemic potential. Nowadays, bioterrorism using Bacillus anthracis is a real possibility, and thus society needs an effective weapon to neutralize this threat. The pathogen may be easily transmitted to human populations. It is easy to store, transport, and disseminate and may survive for many decades. Recent data strongly support the effectiveness of bacteriophage in treating bacterial diseases. Moreover, it is clear that bacteriophages should be considered a potential incapacitative agent against bioterrorism using bacteria belonging to B. cereus group, especially B. anthracis. Therefore, we have reviewed the possibility of using bacteriophages active against Bacillus anthracis and other species of the B. cereus group in the face of a bioterrorism threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewa Jończyk-Matysiak
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Marlena Kłak
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Beata Weber-Dąbrowska
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
- Phage Therapy Unit, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Jan Borysowski
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Transplantation Institute, The Medical University of Warsaw, Nowogrodzka 59, 02-006 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Andrzej Górski
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
- Phage Therapy Unit, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Transplantation Institute, The Medical University of Warsaw, Nowogrodzka 59, 02-006 Warsaw, Poland
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The genomes, proteomes, and structures of three novel phages that infect the Bacillus cereus group and carry putative virulence factors. J Virol 2014; 88:11846-60. [PMID: 25100842 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01364-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
This article reports the results of studying three novel bacteriophages, JL, Shanette, and Basilisk, which infect the pathogen Bacillus cereus and carry genes that may contribute to its pathogenesis. We analyzed host range and superinfection ability, mapped their genomes, and characterized phage structure by mass spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The JL and Shanette genomes were 96% similar and contained 217 open reading frames (ORFs) and 220 ORFs, respectively, while Basilisk has an unrelated genome containing 138 ORFs. Mass spectrometry revealed 23 phage particle proteins for JL and 15 for Basilisk, while only 11 and 4, respectively, were predicted to be present by sequence analysis. Structural protein homology to well-characterized phages suggested that JL and Shanette were members of the family Myoviridae, which was confirmed by TEM. The third phage, Basilisk, was similar only to uncharacterized phages and is an unrelated siphovirus. Cryogenic electron microscopy of this novel phage revealed a T=9 icosahedral capsid structure with the major capsid protein (MCP) likely having the same fold as bacteriophage HK97 MCP despite the lack of sequence similarity. Several putative virulence factors were encoded by these phage genomes, including TerC and TerD involved in tellurium resistance. Host range analysis of all three phages supports genetic transfer of such factors within the B. cereus group, including B. cereus, B. anthracis, and B. thuringiensis. This study provides a basis for understanding these three phages and other related phages as well as their contributions to the pathogenicity of B. cereus group bacteria. Importance: The Bacillus cereus group of bacteria contains several human and plant pathogens, including B. cereus, B. anthracis, and B. thuringiensis. Phages are intimately linked to the evolution of their bacterial hosts and often provide virulence factors, making the study of B. cereus phages important to understanding the evolution of pathogenic strains. Herein we provide the results of detailed study of three novel B. cereus phages, two highly related myoviruses (JL and Shanette) and an unrelated siphovirus (Basilisk). The detailed characterization of host range and superinfection, together with results of genomic, proteomic, and structural analyses, reveal several putative virulence factors as well as the ability of these phages to infect different pathogenic species.
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The odd one out: Bacillus ACT bacteriophage CP-51 exhibits unusual properties compared to related Spounavirinae W.Ph. and Bastille. Virology 2014; 462-463:299-308. [DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2014.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2014] [Revised: 05/23/2014] [Accepted: 06/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Gillis A, Mahillon J. Phages preying on Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis: past, present and future. Viruses 2014; 6:2623-72. [PMID: 25010767 PMCID: PMC4113786 DOI: 10.3390/v6072623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2014] [Revised: 05/19/2014] [Accepted: 06/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Many bacteriophages (phages) have been widely studied due to their major role in virulence evolution of bacterial pathogens. However, less attention has been paid to phages preying on bacteria from the Bacillus cereus group and their contribution to the bacterial genetic pool has been disregarded. Therefore, this review brings together the main information for the B. cereus group phages, from their discovery to their modern biotechnological applications. A special focus is given to phages infecting Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis. These phages belong to the Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, Podoviridae and Tectiviridae families. For the sake of clarity, several phage categories have been made according to significant characteristics such as lifestyles and lysogenic states. The main categories comprise the transducing phages, phages with a chromosomal or plasmidial prophage state, γ-like phages and jumbo-phages. The current genomic characterization of some of these phages is also addressed throughout this work and some promising applications are discussed here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Gillis
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2, L7.05.12, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Jacques Mahillon
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2, L7.05.12, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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Hargreaves KR, Clokie MRJ. Clostridium difficile phages: still difficult? Front Microbiol 2014; 5:184. [PMID: 24808893 PMCID: PMC4009436 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 04/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Phages that infect Clostridium difficile were first isolated for typing purposes in the 1980s, but their use was short lived. However, the rise of C. difficile epidemics over the last decade has triggered a resurgence of interest in using phages to combat this pathogen. Phage therapy is an attractive treatment option for C. difficile infection, however, developing suitable phages is challenging. In this review we summarize the difficulties faced by researchers in this field, and we discuss the solutions and strategies used for the development of C. difficile phages for use as novel therapeutics. Epidemiological data has highlighted the diversity and distribution of C. difficile, and shown that novel strains continue to emerge in clinical settings. In parallel with epidemiological studies, advances in molecular biology have bolstered our understanding of C. difficile biology, and our knowledge of phage–host interactions in other bacterial species. These three fields of biology have therefore paved the way for future work on C. difficile phages to progress and develop. Benefits of using C. difficile phages as therapeutic agents include the fact that they have highly specific interactions with their bacterial hosts. Studies also show that they can reduce bacterial numbers in both in vitro and in vivo systems. Genetic analysis has revealed the genomic diversity among these phages and provided an insight into their taxonomy and evolution. No strictly virulent C. difficile phages have been reported and this contributes to the difficulties with their therapeutic exploitation. Although treatment approaches using the phage-encoded endolysin protein have been explored, the benefits of using “whole-phages” are such that they remain a major research focus. Whilst we don’t envisage working with C. difficile phages will be problem-free, sufficient study should inform future strategies to facilitate their development to combat this problematic pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine R Hargreaves
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Leicester Leicester, UK
| | - Martha R J Clokie
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Leicester Leicester, UK
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Shin H, Lee JH, Park J, Heu S, Ryu S. Characterization and genome analysis of the Bacillus cereus-infecting bacteriophages BPS10C and BPS13. Arch Virol 2014; 159:2171-5. [PMID: 24595561 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-014-2030-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2013] [Accepted: 02/16/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains, bacteriophages are considered to be an alternative approach for the control of pathogens. In this study, the bacteriophages BPS10C and BPS13 were isolated and characterized to investigate their ability to control food-borne pathogenic Bacillus cereus. Phage BPS13 exhibited slightly higher host lysis activity compared with phage BPS10C. In addition, phage BPS13 exhibited greater stability under various pH and temperature conditions. To extend our knowledge of the lysis of B. cereus by these phages, their genomes were completely sequenced and analyzed, revealing that these phage genomes encode endolysin and two tail lysins, which are likely involved in host lysis and invasion mechanisms, respectively. These lysis-related proteins may increase the bactericidal activities of these phages, suggesting that they may be good candidates for the potential control of B. cereus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hakdong Shin
- Department of Food and Animal Biotechnology, Center for Food and Bioconvergence, Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-921, Korea
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Yuan Y, Gao M, Peng Q, Wu D, Liu P, Wu Y. Genomic analysis of a phage and prophage from a Bacillus thuringiensis strain. J Gen Virol 2013; 95:751-761. [PMID: 24285088 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.058735-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages have been found to be the most abundant and also potentially most diverse biological entities on Earth. In the present study, Bacillus phages were isolated rapidly and shown to have a high degree of diversity. The genomes of a newly isolated phage, phiCM3, and a prophage, proCM3, from the Bacillus thuringiensis strain YM-03 were sequenced and characterized. Comparative genome analysis showed that the phiCM3 genome is highly similar to the genomes of eight other Bacillus phages and seven of these phages were classified as the Wβ group of phages. Analysis of the differential evolution of the genes in the Wβ-group phages indicated that the genes encoding the antirepressor and tail fibre protein were more highly conserved than those encoding the major capsid protein, DNA replication protein, and RNA polymerase σ factor, which might have diverged to acquire mechanisms suitable for survival in different microbial hosts. Genome analysis of proCM3 revealed that proCM3 might be a defective phage because of mutations in the minor structural protein, and it was not inducible by mitomycin C treatment. The proCM3 genome was similar to those of two lytic Bacillus phages in sequence, but had a different genomic structure, composed of three regions in a different order. These data suggest that the three phages might have had a common ancestor and that genome rearrangement might have occurred during evolution. The findings of this study enrich our current knowledge of Bacillus phage diversity and evolution, especially for the Wβ-group and TP21-L-like phages, and may help the development of practical applications of Bacillus phages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yihui Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
| | - Meiying Gao
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
| | - Qin Peng
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
| | - Dandan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
| | - Pengming Liu
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
| | - Yan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, PR China
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Characterization and comparative genomic analysis of bacteriophages infecting members of the Bacillus cereus group. Arch Virol 2013; 159:871-84. [PMID: 24264384 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-013-1920-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2013] [Accepted: 11/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The Bacillus cereus group phages infecting B. cereus, B. anthracis, and B. thuringiensis (Bt) have been studied at the molecular level and, recently, at the genomic level to control the pathogens B. cereus and B. anthracis and to prevent phage contamination of the natural insect pesticide Bt. A comparative phylogenetic analysis has revealed three different major phage groups with different morphologies (Myoviridae for group I, Siphoviridae for group II, and Tectiviridae for group III), genome size (group I > group II > group III), and lifestyle (virulent for group I and temperate for group II and III). A subsequent phage genome comparison using a dot plot analysis showed that phages in each group are highly homologous, substantiating the grouping of B. cereus phages. Endolysin is a host lysis protein that contains two conserved domains: a cell-wall-binding domain (CBD) and an enzymatic activity domain (EAD). In B. cereus sensu lato phage group I, four different endolysin groups have been detected, according to combinations of two types of CBD and four types of EAD. Group I phages have two copies of tail lysins and one copy of endolysin, but the functions of the tail lysins are still unknown. In the B. cereus sensu lato phage group II, the B. anthracis phages have been studied and applied for typing and rapid detection of pathogenic host strains. In the B. cereus sensu lato phage group III, the B. thuringiensis phages Bam35 and GIL01 have been studied to understand phage entry and lytic switch regulation mechanisms. In this review, we suggest that further study of the B. cereus group phages would be useful for various phage applications, such as biocontrol, typing, and rapid detection of the pathogens B. cereus and B. anthracis and for the prevention of phage contamination of the natural insect pesticide Bt.
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Lee JH, Shin H, Son B, Heu S, Ryu S. Characterization and complete genome sequence of a virulent bacteriophage B4 infecting food-borne pathogenic Bacillus cereus. Arch Virol 2013; 158:2101-8. [PMID: 23649177 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-013-1719-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2013] [Accepted: 04/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Bacillus cereus causes food poisoning, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea, due to production of enterotoxins. As a means of controlling this food-borne pathogen, the virulent bacteriophage B4 was isolated and characterized. Bacterial challenge assays showed that phage B4 effectively inhibited growth of members of the B. cereus group as well as B. subtilis, and growth inhibition persisted for over 20 h. One-step growth analysis also revealed the host lysis activity of phage B4, with relatively short eclipse/latent times (10/15 min) and a large burst size (>200 PFU). The complete genome of phage B4, containing a 162-kb DNA with 277 ORFs, was analyzed. The endolysin encoded by the phage B4 genome accounts for the cell lysis activity of this phage. These results suggest that phage B4 has potential as a biological agent to control B. cereus propagation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Hoon Lee
- Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, 446-701, Korea
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