Infection and Drug Resistance (Nov 2021)
Emerging Aspects of Jumbo Bacteriophages
Abstract
Amina Nazir,1,2 Azam Ali,3 Hong Qing,1 Yigang Tong2 1Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Centre for Applied Molecular Biology (CAMB), University of the Punjab, Lahore, PakistanCorrespondence: Hong QingKey Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 13264286266Email [email protected] TongBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: The bacteriophages have been explored at a huge scale as a model system for their applications in many biological-related fields. Jumbo phages with a large genome size from 200 to 500 kbp were not previously assigned a great value, and characterized by complex structures coupled with large virions with a wide variety of hosts. The origin of most of the jumbo phages was not well understood; however, many other prominent features have been discovered recently. In the current review, we strive to unearth the most advanced characteristics of jumbo phages, particularly their significance and structural organization that holds immense value to the viral life cycle. The unique characteristics of jumbo phages are the basis of variations in different types of phages concerning their organization at the genomic level, virion structure, evolution, and progeny propagation. The presence of tRNA and additional translation-related genes along with chaperonin genes mark the ability of these phages for being independent of host molecular machinery enabling them to have wide host options. A large number of jumbo phages have been isolated from various sources through advanced standard screening methods. The current review has summarized the available data on jumbo phages and discussed the genome orientation of jumbo phages, translational machinery, diversity and evolution of jumbo phages. In the studies conducted, jumbo phages possessed special additional genes that helps to reduce the dependence of jumbo phages on their hosts. Furthermore, their genomes might have evolved from smaller genome phages.Keywords: bacteriophages, tRNA, large genome, wide host range, chaperonin
