Locating and Activating Molecular 'Time Bombs': Induction of Mycolata Prophages.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27487243.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0159957 and PMC identifier 4972346.
- 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
Little is known about the prevalence, functionality and ecological roles of temperate phages for members of the mycolic acid producing bacteria, the Mycolata. While many lytic phages infective for these organisms have been isolated, and assessed for their suitability for use as biological control agents of activated sludge foaming, no studies have investigated how temperate phages might be induced for this purpose. Bioinformatic analysis using the PHAge Search Tool (PHAST) on Mycolata whole genome sequence data in GenBank for members of the genera Gordonia, Mycobacterium, Nocardia, Rhodococcus, and Tsukamurella revealed 83% contained putative prophage DNA sequences. Subsequent prophage inductions using mitomycin C were conducted on 17 Mycolata strains. This led to the isolation and genome characterization of three novel Caudovirales temperate phages, namely GAL1, GMA1, and TPA4, induced from Gordonia alkanivorans, Gordonia malaquae, and Tsukamurella paurometabola, respectively. All possessed highly distinctive dsDNA genome sequences.
Medical subject headings
- Gordonia Bacterium
- Prophages
- Virus Activation