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Streptomyces phages WheeHeim and Forthebois are two novel members of the Tectiviridae family. These phages were isolated on cultures of the plant pathogen Streptomyces scabiei, known for its worldwide economic impact on potato crops. Transmission electron microscopy showed viral particles with double-layered icosahedral capsids, and frequent instances of protruding nanotubes harboring a collar-like structure. Mass-spectrometry confirmed the presence of lipids in the virion, and serial purification of colonies from turbid plaques and immunity testing revealed that both phages are temperate. Streptomyces phages WheeHeim and Forthebois have linear dsDNA chromosomes (18,266 bp and 18,251 bp long, respectively) with the characteristic two-segment architecture of the Tectiviridae. Both genomes encode homologs of the canonical tectiviral proteins (major capsid protein, packaging ATPase and DNA polymerase), as well as PRD1-type virion-associated transglycosylase and membrane DNA delivery proteins. Comparative genomics and phylogenetic analyses firmly establish that these two phages, together with Rhodococcus phage Toil, form a new genus within the Tectiviridae, which we have tentatively named Deltatectivirus. The identification of a cohesive clade of Actinobacteria-infecting tectiviruses with conserved genome structure but with scant sequence similarity to members of other tectiviral genera confirms that the Tectiviridae are an ancient lineage infecting a broad range of bacterial hosts.

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Background: Social media, specifically Twitter, has become an increasingly used tool in academic orthopaedic surgery to help surgeons connect with patients and peers. This study seeks to understand correlations among social medial influence, academic influence, and gender among academic orthopaedic sport surgeons. Methods: A list of all orthopaedic sports surgeons serving as faculty of sports fellowships in the United States was compiled, along with publicly available demographic information. Their h-indices were obtained using the Scopus database. The Physician Payments Sunshine Act website was used to determine their industry payments from 2014 through 2020. The number of Twitter followers was used a measure of social media influence. Multivariable linear regression models were employed to explore the associations between these parameters and industry payments. Results: Of the 633 surgeons, 33% had a Twitter account. Surgeons with >1,000 followers (7.3%) were awarded 186% more in non-research funding (p = 0.01) and had a higher probability of receiving industry research funding compared to those with no followers (p = 0.03). Sports surgeons had an average h-index of 16, with 44% having ≤ 20 publications and 21% having ≥ 100 publications. Surgeons with ≥ 100 publications were awarded 453% more in non-research funding (p = 0.001) and had a 32% higher probability of receiving industry research funding (p < 0.001) when compared to their colleagues with ≤ 20 publications. Female sports surgeons accounted for only 7.9% of surgeons included in the study, and were awarded 65% less in industry non-research funding compared to their male colleagues (p = 0.004) when controlling for other factors. Conclusions: Both number of publications and a high level of Twitter activity (> 1,000 followers) had the strongest associations with the quantity of industry non-research funding and the highest probability of industry research funding. Female sports surgeons received significantly less industry non-research funding compared to their male colleagues. Future studies further exploring gender disparities in industry funding for orthopaedic surgeons may be warranted.