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Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins
Published on: June 11, 2015
The Diversity of Bacteriophages in Hot Springs
Timothy J Marks1, Isabella R Rowland2
1Department of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Sciences, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, USA. markst@campbell.edu.
Abstract:
Bacteriophages are ubiquitous in all environments that support microbial life. This includes hot springs, which can range in temperatures between 40 and 98 °C and pH levels between 1 and 9. Bacteriophages that survive in the higher temperatures of hot springs are known as thermophages. Thermophages have developed distinct adaptations allowing for thermostability in these extreme environments, including increased G + C DNA percentages, reliance upon the pentose phosphate metabolic pathway to avoid oxidative stress, and a codon preference for those with a GNA sequence leading to increased hydrophobic interactions and disulfide bonds. In this review, we discuss the diversity of characterized thermophages in hot spring environments that span five viral families: Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, Tectiviridae, Sphaerolipoviridae, and Inoviridae. Potential industrial and medicinal applications of thermophages will also be addressed.
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