Expanding the Diversity of <i>Actinobacterial Tectiviridae</i>: A Novel Genus from <i>Microbacterium</i>

Expanding the Diversity of <i>Actinobacterial Tectiviridae</i>: A Novel Genus from <i>Microbacterium</i>

Six novel <i>Microbacterium</i> phages belonging to the <i>Tectiviridae</i> family were isolated using <i>Microbacterium testaceum</i> as a host. Phages MuffinTheCat, Badulia, DesireeRose, Bee17, SCoupsA, and LuzDeMundo were purified from environmental samples by...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jacqueline M. Washington, Holly Basta, Angela Bryanne De Jesus, Madison G. Bendele, Steven G. Cresawn, Emily K. Ginser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Viruses
Subjects:
<i>Microbacterium</i>
tectivirus
actinobacteria
jelly-roll capsid
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/1/113
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Summary:Six novel <i>Microbacterium</i> phages belonging to the <i>Tectiviridae</i> family were isolated using <i>Microbacterium testaceum</i> as a host. Phages MuffinTheCat, Badulia, DesireeRose, Bee17, SCoupsA, and LuzDeMundo were purified from environmental samples by students participating in the Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program at Alliance University, New York. The phages have linear dsDNA genomes 15,438–15,636 bp with 112–120 bp inverted terminal repeats. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging analysis revealed that the six novel phages have six-sided icosahedral double-layered capsids with an internal lipid membrane that occasionally forms protruding nanotubules. Annotation analysis determined that the novel <i>Microbacterium</i> phages all have 32–34 protein-coding genes and no tRNAs. Like other <i>Tectiviridae</i>, the phage genomes are arranged into two segments and include three highly conserved family genes that encode a DNA polymerase, double jelly-roll major capsid protein, and packaging ATPase. Although the novel bacteriophages have 91.6 to 97.5% nucleotide sequence similarity to each other, they are at most 58% similar to previously characterized <i>Tectiviridae</i> genera. Consequently, these novel <i>Microbacterium</i> phages expand the diversity of the <i>Tectiviridae</i> family, and we propose they form the sixth genus, <i>Zetatectivirus</i>.
ISSN:1999-4915

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