Abstract
We observed the emergence of a novel filamentous phage (CRAϕ) from the genome of Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 during a long-term laboratory evolution experiment. CRAϕ is the first bacteriophage reported to require the molecular machinery involved in the uptake of environmental DNA for infection. Reactivation and evolution of CRAϕ reduced the potential for horizontal transfer of genes via natural transformation in our experiment. Risk of infection by similar phages may limit the expression and maintenance of bacterial competence in nature. The closest studied relative of CRAϕ is the Vibrio cholerae CTXϕ phage. Variants of CRAϕ are found in the genomes of Acinetobacter baumannii strains, and it is possible that phage-encoded toxins contribute to the virulence of this opportunistic multidrug-resistant pathogen.
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