Characterization of Dev-CT57, new Autographivirinae bacteriophage infecting Cronobacter spp.. Cronophage Dev-CT57

Cronobacter spp. are opportunistic pathogenic bacteria responsible for severe infections in neonates. Powdered infant formula was confirmed to be the source of infection in some cases. Bacteriophages offer a safe means for eliminating this pathogen. In the present study we characterized one closely related Cronobacter-specific bacteriophage from the GAP227virus group. The Dev-CT57 phage possessed broad host specificity as it infected 80% tested Cronobacter strains. According to the genome comparisons Dev-CT57 phage have hight level of similarity to the prototype GAP227 phage. A phylogenic tree of RNA polymerase (RNAP) gene from selected Autographivirinae representatives confirmed grouping of Dev-CD23 and GAP227 phages in one cluster, the other members of the cluster were the PP2, Phi80-18 and PhiR8-01 phages. Obtained results will contribute to our understanding biology and evolution of Autographivirinae phages.

克罗诺杆菌属（Cronobacter spp.）为机会致病性细菌，可引发新生儿重症感染。在部分病例中，婴儿配方粉（powdered infant formula）被证实为感染来源。噬菌体（bacteriophages）为清除该病原菌提供了安全手段。本研究对一株源自GAP227病毒群（GAP227virus group）的克罗诺杆菌特异性密切相关噬菌体开展了系统特征分析。该Dev-CT57噬菌体（Dev-CT57 phage）具备宽宿主谱，可感染80%的受试克罗诺杆菌菌株。经基因组比对（genome comparisons），Dev-CT57噬菌体与原型株GAP227噬菌体（prototype GAP227 phage）具有高度同源性。以选取的自复制噬菌体亚科（Autographivirinae）代表株的RNA聚合酶（RNA polymerase, RNAP）基因构建系统发育树（phylogenic tree），结果证实Dev-CD23与GAP227噬菌体聚为同一进化簇，该簇其余成员包括PP2、Phi80-18及PhiR8-01噬菌体。本研究结果有助于加深我们对自复制噬菌体亚科噬菌体生物学特性与进化历程的理解。