Molecular characterization, structural analysis and determination of host range of a novel bacteriophage LSB-1

Yaming Chai,Liqing Cheng,Guorong Huang,Hongyan Xiong,Xiangyu Ma,Zhonglin Lin Lin Zhang

doi:10.1186/1743-422x-7-255

Abstract

BackgroundBacteriophages (phages) are widespread in the environment and play a crucial role in the evolution of their bacterial hosts and the emergence of new pathogens.ResultsLSB-1, a reference coliphage strain, was classified as a member of the Podoviridae family with a cystic form (50 ± 5 nm diameter) and short tail (60 ± 5 nm long). The double stranded DNA was about 30 kilobase pairs in length. We identified its host range and determined the gp17 sequences and protein structure using shotgun analysis and bioinformatics technology.ConclusionsColiphage LSB-1 possesses a tailspike protein with endosialidase activity which is probably responsible for its specific enteroinvasive E.coli host range within the laboratory.

Highlights

Bacteriophages are widespread in the environment and play a crucial role in the evolution of their bacterial hosts and the emergence of new pathogens
Coliphage morphology The LSB-1 phage has a cystic form of 50 ± 5 nm in diameter, with a short noncontractile tail 60 ± 5 nm long (Fig. 1)
Nucleic acid characterization LSB-1 coliphage nucleic acid was sensitive to Dnase I, but resistant to Rnase A and S1 nuclease (Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

Bacteriophages (phages) are widespread in the environment and play a crucial role in the evolution of their bacterial hosts and the emergence of new pathogens. Some of the isolated phages have shown broad-host range interaction with the bacterial isolates and others have shown either species or strain level specificity. Both polyvalent phages and non-polyvalent phages are morphologically and genetically diverse [4,5]. To gain a better understanding of the biological properties of phages, we have sequenced

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Conclusion