Characterization and Genomic Analysis of PALS2, a Novel Staphylococcus Jumbo Bacteriophage.

Yoona Lee,Yoyeon Cha,Bokyung Son,Sangryeol Ryu

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.622755

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen that can be frequently encountered in clinical and food-processing surroundings. Among the various countermeasures, bacteriophages have been considered to be promising alternatives to antibiotics. In this study, the bacteriophage PALS2 was isolated from bird feces, and the genomic and biological characteristics of this phage were investigated. PALS2 was determined to belong to the Myoviridae family and exhibited extended host inhibition that persisted for up to 24 h with repeated bursts of 12 plaque-forming units/cell. The complete genome of PALS2 measured 268,746 base pairs (bp), indicating that PALS2 could be classified as a jumbo phage. The PALS2 genome contained 279 ORFs and 1 tRNA covering asparagine, and the majority of predicted PALS2 genes encoded hypothetical proteins. Additional genes involved in DNA replication and repair, nucleotide metabolism, and genes encoding multisubunit RNA polymerase were identified in the PALS2 genome, which is a common feature of typical jumbo phages. Comparative genomic analysis indicated that PALS2 is a phiKZ-related virus and is more similar to typical jumbo phages than to staphylococcal phages. Additionally, the effective antimicrobial activities of phage PALS2 suggest its possible use as a biocontrol agent in various clinical and food processing environments.

Highlights

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacterium that causes skin infections, respiratory tract infections, and food poisoning in animals and the human body (Lowy, 1998; De Lencastre et al, 2007)
Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is more challenging than other resistant bacteria, as it is resistant to the entire classes of beta-lactam antibiotics and even to multiple classes of non–beta-lactam antibiotics (Chambers and DeLeo, 2009; Turner et al, 2019)
The new S. aureus–infecting phage PALS2 was isolated from bird feces

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacterium that causes skin infections, respiratory tract infections, and food poisoning in animals and the human body (Lowy, 1998; De Lencastre et al, 2007). Staphylococcus Jumbo Bacteriophage PALS2 development of new antibiotics for antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Khan et al, 2019) These findings highlight the need to devise a new strategy to combat S. aureus, and there has been increasing interest in the development of alternative antimicrobial agents employing bacteriophages (phages) (Foster, 2004). Several small-genome phages such as phage T7 have its own RNAP, but it is a single subunit RNAP, whereas most jumbo phages encode a multisubunit RNAP (Sokolova et al, 2020) This feature makes the jumbo phages generally less dependent on the host metabolism and eventually leads them to have a wider host range compared to the phages with smaller genomes (Mesyanzhinov et al, 2002). Considering the strong bacterial inhibitory ability and broad host range of PALS2, this phage could be utilized in the development of a novel potential biocontrol agent (Hyman, 2019)

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT