RESUMEN
Four bacteriophages infecting Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 (three belonging to subcluster P1 and one belonging to subcluster P2) were isolated from soil and sequenced. All four phages are similar in the left arm of their genomes, but the P2 phage differs in the right arm. All four genomes contain features of temperate phages.
RESUMEN
Temperate phages are common, and prophages are abundant residents of sequenced bacterial genomes. Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis, encompass substantial genetic diversity and are commonly temperate. Characterization of ten Cluster N temperate mycobacteriophages revealed at least five distinct prophage-expressed viral defence systems that interfere with the infection of lytic and temperate phages that are either closely related (homotypic defence) or unrelated (heterotypic defence) to the prophage. Target specificity is unpredictable, ranging from a single target phage to one-third of those tested. The defence systems include a single-subunit restriction system, a heterotypic exclusion system and a predicted (p)ppGpp synthetase, which blocks lytic phage growth, promotes bacterial survival and enables efficient lysogeny. The predicted (p)ppGpp synthetase coded by the Phrann prophage defends against phage Tweety infection, but Tweety codes for a tetrapeptide repeat protein, gp54, which acts as a highly effective counter-defence system. Prophage-mediated viral defence offers an efficient mechanism for bacterial success in host-virus dynamics, and counter-defence promotes phage co-evolution.
Asunto(s)
Micobacteriófagos/fisiología , Mycobacterium smegmatis/virología , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/virología , Profagos/fisiología , ADN Viral/genética , Variación Genética , Genoma Bacteriano , Genoma Viral , Ligasas/genética , Lisogenia , Micobacteriófagos/genética , Mycobacterium smegmatis/genética , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genética , Filogenia , Profagos/enzimología , Profagos/genética , Proteínas Virales/genéticaRESUMEN
Mycobacteriophages--viruses of mycobacterial hosts--are genetically diverse but morphologically are all classified in the Caudovirales with double-stranded DNA and tails. We describe here a group of five closely related mycobacteriophages--Corndog, Catdawg, Dylan, Firecracker, and YungJamal--designated as Cluster O with long flexible tails but with unusual prolate capsids. Proteomic analysis of phage Corndog particles, Catdawg particles, and Corndog-infected cells confirms expression of half of the predicted gene products and indicates a non-canonical mechanism for translation of the Corndog tape measure protein. Bioinformatic analysis identifies 8-9 strongly predicted SigA promoters and all five Cluster O genomes contain more than 30 copies of a 17 bp repeat sequence with dyad symmetry located throughout the genomes. Comparison of the Cluster O phages provides insights into phage genome evolution including the processes of gene flux by horizontal genetic exchange.