A novel lytic bacteriophage, Escherichia phage EcS1, was isolated from sewage samples collected in Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan. The complete genome sequence of EcS1 was determined using the Illumina Miseq System. The whole genome of EcS1 was found to be 175,437 bp in length with a mean G+C content of 37.8%. A total of 295 genes were identified as structural, functional, and hypothetical genes. BLAST analysis of the EcS1 genomic sequence revealed the highest identity (79%; query cover of 73-74%) to three T4-related phages that infect Serratia sp. ATCC 39006. Host range experiments revealed that EcS1 has lytic effects on three pathogenic strains of Shigella spp. and a pathogenic strain of Salmonella enterica as well as on E. coli strains. However, two strains of Serratia marcescens showed resistance to this phage. Phylogenetic trees for phage tail fiber protein sequences revealed that EcS1 is closely related to Enterobacteriaceae-infecting phages. Thus, EcS1 is a novel phage that infects...

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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. 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 pha...

Phages infecting members of the opportunistic human pathogen, Salmonella enterica, are widespread in natural environments and offer a potential source of agents that could be used for controlling populations of this bacterium; yet, relatively little is known about these phages. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of 45 phages of Salmonella enterica from disparate geographic locations within British Columbia, Canada. Host-range profiling revealed host-specific patterns of susceptibility and resistance, with several phages identified that have a broad-host range (i.e., able to lyse >40% of bacterial hosts tested). One phage in particular, SE13, is able to lyse 51 out of the 61 Salmonella strains tested. Comparative genomic analyses also revealed an abundance of sequence diversity in the sequenced phages. Alignment of the genomes grouped the phages into 12 clusters with three singletons. Phages within certain clusters exhibited extraordinarily high genome homology (&...

Background: Bacteriophages are bacterial parasites and are considered the most abundant and diverse biological entities on the planet. Previously we identified 154 prophages from 151 serovars of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica . A detailed analysis of Salmonella prophage genomics is required given the influence of phages on their bacterial hosts and should provide a broader understanding of Salmonella biology and virulence and contribute to the practical applications of phages as vectors and antibacterial agents. Results: Comparative analysis of the full genome sequences of 142 prophages of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica retrieved from public databases revealed an extensive variation in genome sizes (6.4- 358.7 kb) and guanine plus cytosine (GC) content (35.5-65.4%) and a linear correlation between the genome size and the number of open reading frames (ORFs). We used three approaches to compare the phage genomes. The NUCmer/MUMmer genome alignment tool was used to evaluate ...

We characterized the complete genome sequence of Siphoviridae bacteriophage Erla, an obligatory lytic subcluster EA1 bacteriophage infecting Microbacterium foliorum NRRL B-24224, with a capsid width of 65 nm and a tail length of 112 nm. The 41.5-kb genome, encompassing 62 predicted protein-coding genes, is highly similar (99.52% identity) to that of bacteriophage Calix.

Bacteria of the genus are genetically diverse and ubiquitous in the environment. Like other bacteria, those of the genus are susceptible to bacteriophages which can significantly affect their host in many ways, ranging from cell lysis to major changes in morphology and virulence. Insights into phage genomes, evolution, and functional relationships with their hosts have the potential to contribute to a broader understanding of biology, and the development of novel phage therapy strategies. Here we provide a broad-based comparative and evolutionary analysis of 130 complete phage genome sequences available in online databases. We discovered extensive variation in genome size (ranging from 3 to 316 kb), G + C percentage (ranging from 37 to 66%), and overall gene content (ranging from 81-96% of genome space). Based on overall nucleotide similarity and the numbers of shared gene products, 100 out of 130 genome sequences were grouped into 12 different clusters; 30 were characterized as sin...