Comparative genomics of Cluster O mycobacteriophages.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 25742016.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0118725 and PMC identifier 4351075.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
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.
Medical subject headings
- DNA, Viral
- Genome, Viral
- Mycobacteriophages