A Novel <i>Aeromonas popoffii</i> Phage AerP_220 Proposed to Be a Member of a New <i>Tolavirus</i> Genus in the <i>Autographiviridae</i> Family
Vera Morozova,
Yuliya Kozlova,
Ghadeer Jdeed,
Artem Tikunov,
Tatyana Ushakova,
Alevtina Bardasheva,
Elena Zhirakovskaia,
Yuliya Poletaeva,
Elena Ryabchikova,
Nina V. Tikunova
Affiliations
Vera Morozova
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Yuliya Kozlova
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Ghadeer Jdeed
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Artem Tikunov
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Tatyana Ushakova
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Alevtina Bardasheva
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Elena Zhirakovskaia
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Yuliya Poletaeva
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Elena Ryabchikova
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Nina V. Tikunova
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Aeromonas popoffii is one of the environmental Aeromonas species. A number of factors of virulence have been described for this species and it has been reported as a causative agent of urinary tract infection. The first A. popoffii bacteriophage AerP_220 along with its host strain A. popoffii CEMTC 4062 were isolated from river water. The phage has a podovirus morphotype, shows a narrow host range and is lytic against the host strain. The AerP_220 genome comprises 45,207 bp and does not contain genes responsible for antibiotic resistance and toxin production. Fifty-nine co-directional putative ORFs were found in the AerP_220 genome. Thirty-three ORFs encoded proteins with predicted functions; the products of 26 ORFs were hypothetical proteins. AerP_220 genome analysis revealed that this phage can be considered a novel species within the Autographiviridae family. Comparative genomic and proteomic analysis revealed that AerP_220 along with the Aeromonas phage vB_AspA_Tola (OM913599) are members of a new putative Tolavirus genus in the family Autographiviridae. The Gajwadongvirus and proposed Tolavirus genera along with Pantoea phage Nufs112 and phage Reminis could form a new Tolavirinae subfamily within the Autographiviridae family.
