Abstract
ABSTRACT The in silico analyses of 109 replication-competent genomic DNA sequences isolated from cow milk and its products (97 in the bovine meat and milk factors 2 group – BMMF2, and additional 4 in BMMF1) seems to place these in a specific class of infectious agents spanning between bacterial plasmid and circular ssDNA viruses. Satellite-type small plasmids with partial homology to larger genomes, were also isolated in both groups. A member of the BMMF1 group H1MBS.1 was recovered in a distinctly modified form from colon tissue by laser microdissection. Although the evolutionary origin is unknown, it draws the attention to the existence of a hitherto unrecognized, broad spectrum of potential pathogens. Indirect hints to the origin and structure of our isolates, as well as to their replicative behaviour, result from parallels drawn to the Hepatitis deltavirus genome structure and replication.
Highlights
A large set of novel viral and phage genomes has been identified during the past several years
We describe the detection by mass spec of peptides specific for 3 new BMMF2 isolates, as well as the recovery of a modified BMMF1 isolate H1MSB.1, from colon tissue
The BMMF1 group of isolates consists of 13 circular DNA genomes [14,19,27]
Summary
A large set of novel viral and phage genomes has been identified during the past several years. These were identified through analyses of the human microbiome [1,2] or of samples from other sources. Analyses mostly relied on comparisons to known agents or the identification of a replication gene in the assembled genome. One difficulty originates from the discovery of chimeric genomes. This weakened the strict demarcation between certain types or groups of infectious agents resulting in studies investigating their phylogenetic origin [11,12,13]
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