A web-based restriction endonuclease tool for mycobacteriophage cluster prediction

A recent explosion in the amount of genomic data has revealed a large genetic diversity in the bacteriophages that infect Mycobacterium smegmatis. In an effort to assess the novelty of newly described mycobacteriophage isolates and provide a preliminary determination of their probable cluster assignment prior to full genome sequencing, we have developed a systematic approach that relies on restriction endonuclease analysis. We demonstrate that a web-based tool, the Phage Enzyme Tool (or PET), is capable of rapidly facilitating this analysis and exhibits reliability in the putative placement of mycobacteriophages into specific clusters of previously sequenced phages. We propose that this tool represents a useful analytical step in the initial study of phage genomes and that this tool will increase the efficiency of phage genome characterization and enhance the educational activities involving mycobacteriophage discovery.