Genomic annotation for the temperate phage EFC-1, isolated from Enterococcus faecalis KBL101

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Virology
• Genomics

Background:

• Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen.
• Temperate phages can influence bacterial virulence and antibiotic resistance.
• Isolation and characterization of novel phages are crucial for understanding phage-host interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize a novel temperate phage from Enterococcus faecalis.
• To determine the genomic and morphological features of the new phage.
• To compare the phage genome with existing bacteriophage databases.

Main Methods:

• Isolation of temperate phage EFC-1 from mitomycin-C-induced Enterococcus faecalis KBL101 lysate.
• Morphological analysis based on head and tail structure.
• Genomic DNA extraction and sequencing.
• Bioinformatic analysis to identify open reading frames (ORFs) and compare genome similarity.

Main Results:

• A novel temperate phage, EFC-1, belonging to the Siphoviridae family was isolated.
• EFC-1 possesses an isometric head and a long tail.
• The phage genome consists of 40,286 base pairs of double-stranded DNA with a G+C content of 35.05%.
• Bioinformatic analysis identified 60 putative ORFs.
• The EFC-1 genome showed no significant similarity to previously reported bacteriophages of E. faecalis.

Conclusions:

• The novel temperate phage EFC-1 represents a unique addition to the bacteriophage repertoire.
• Its distinct genomic features suggest a potentially novel evolutionary lineage or adaptation.
• Further research into EFC-1 could provide insights into phage-host dynamics in Enterococcus faecalis.