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Yersiniophage phiR1-37 is a tailed bacteriophage having a 270 kb DNA genome with thymidine replaced by deoxyuridine

Saija Kiljunen1,2, Kristo Hakala3,4, Elise Pinta1,2

  • 1Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital Laboratory, Helsinki, Finland.

Microbiology (Reading, England)
|December 13, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Bacteriophage phiR1-37 infects Yersinia enterocolitica by targeting its lipopolysaccharide outer core. This lytic phage has a unique deoxyuridine-rich genome, suggesting it represents a novel viral lineage.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Bacteriophage phiR1-37 was isolated from Yersinia enterocolitica strain YeO3-R1.
  • Yersinia enterocolitica is a significant human pathogen, and understanding its phage interactions is crucial for developing novel therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the receptor for bacteriophage phiR1-37 on Yersinia enterocolitica.
  • To determine the morphology, life cycle, and genomic properties of bacteriophage phiR1-37.
  • To investigate the evolutionary relationship of phiR1-37 to other known bacteriophages.

Main Methods:

  • Phage receptor analysis using Yersinia strains.
  • Transmission electron microscopy for phage morphology.
  • One-step growth curves to determine lytic cycle parameters.
  • Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and restriction digestion for genome size estimation.
  • High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) for DNA composition analysis.
  • N-terminal amino acid sequencing of structural proteins and database searches.
  • Partial genome sequencing.

Main Results:

  • The receptor for phiR1-37 is located in the outer core hexasaccharide of Yersinia enterocolitica O:3 lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and also found in other Yersinia serotypes and Yersinia intermedia.
  • The receptor structure was surprisingly identified in the O antigen of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis O:9.
  • phiR1-37 possesses a Myoviridae morphology (icosahedral head, contractile tail) and a lytic life cycle with a burst size of ~80 p.f.u./cell.
  • The phage genome is double-stranded DNA, approximately 270 kb, with >99% of thymidine replaced by deoxyuridine.
  • N-terminal sequencing of structural proteins revealed no similarity to known viral proteins, suggesting a novel viral lineage.

Conclusions:

  • Bacteriophage phiR1-37 utilizes a conserved LPS structure as its receptor across different Yersinia species.
  • The unique deoxyuridine-rich genome and distinct protein sequences position phiR1-37 as a potentially new group of bacteriophages.
  • Further characterization of phiR1-37 could provide insights into Yersinia LPS biosynthesis and phage evolution.

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