Genomic Diversity of Bacteriophages Infecting Microbacterium Spp

Authors

Deborah Jacobs-Sera, University of Pittsburgh
Lawrence A. Abad, University of Pittsburgh
Richard M. Alvey, Illinois Wesleyan University
Kirk R. Anders, Gonzaga University
Haley G. Aull, University of Pittsburgh
Suparna S. Bhalla, Mount Saint Mary College
Lawrence S. Blumer, Morehouse College
David W. Bollivar, Illinois Wesleyan University
J. Alfred Bonilla, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Kristen A. Butela, University of Pittsburgh
Roy J. Coomans, North Carolina A&T State University
Steven G. Cresawn, James Madison University
Tom D'Elia, Indian River State College
Arturo Diaz, La Sierra University
Ashley M. Divens, University of Pittsburgh
Nicholas P. Edgington, Southern Connecticut State University
Gregory D. Frederick, LeTourneau University
Maria D. Gainey, Western Carolina University
Rebecca A. Garlena, University of Pittsburgh
Kenneth W. Grant, Wake Forest Baptist Health
Susan M.R. Gurney, Drexel University
Heather L. Hendrickson, Massey University
Lee E. Hughes, University of North Texas
Margaret A. Kenna, Lehigh University
Karen K. Klyczek, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Hari Kotturi, University of Central Oklahoma
Travis Mavrich, University of Pittsburgh
Angela L. McKinney, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Evan C. Merkhofer, Mount Saint Mary College
Jordan Moberg Parker, University of California, Los Angeles
Sally D. Molloy, University of Maine

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-18-2020

Publication Title

PLOS One

Volume

15

Issue

6

First page number:

1

Last page number:

41

Abstract

The bacteriophage population is vast, dynamic, old, and genetically diverse. The genomics of phages that infect bacterial hosts in the phylum Actinobacteria show them to not only be diverse but also pervasively mosaic, and replete with genes of unknown function. To further explore this broad group of bacteriophages, we describe here the isolation and genomic characterization of 116 phages that infect Microbacterium spp. Most of the phages are lytic, and can be grouped into twelve clusters according to their overall relatedness; seven of the phages are singletons with no close relatives. Genome sizes vary from 17.3 kbp to 97.7 kbp, and their G+C% content ranges from 51.4% to 71.4%, compared to ~67% for their Microbacterium hosts. The phages were isolated on five different Microbacterium species, but typically do not efficiently infect strains beyond the one on which they were isolated. These Microbacterium phages contain many novel features, including very large viral genes (13.5 kbp) and unusual fusions of structural proteins, including a fusion of VIP2 toxin and a MuF-like protein into a single gene. These phages and their genetic components such as integration systems, recombineering tools, and phage-mediated delivery systems, will be useful resources for advancing Microbacterium genetics.

Disciplines

Bacteria | Genomics | Viruses

Language

English

Repository Citation

Jacobs-Sera, D., Abad, L. A., Alvey, R. M., Anders, K. R., Aull, H. G., Bhalla, S. S., Blumer, L. S., Bollivar, D. W., Bonilla, J. A., Butela, K. A., Coomans, R. J., Cresawn, S. G., D'Elia, T., Diaz, A., Divens, A. M., Edgington, N. P., Frederick, G. D., Gainey, M. D., Garlena, R. A., Grant, K. W., Gurney, S. M., Hendrickson, H. L., Hughes, L. E., Kenna, M. A., Klyczek, K. K., Kotturi, H., Mavrich, T., McKinney, A. L., Merkhofer, E. C., Parker, J. M., Molloy, S. D. (2020). Genomic Diversity of Bacteriophages Infecting Microbacterium Spp. PLOS One, 15(6), 1-41.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234636