Accumulating evidence has indicated that the multiple drug resistant Vibrio parahaemolyticus may pose a serious threat to public health and economic concerns for humans globally. Here, two lytic bacteriophages, namely vB_VpS_BA3 and vB_VpS_CA8, were isolated from sewage collected in Guangzhou, China. Electron microscopy studies revealed both virions taxonomically belonged to the Siphoviridae family with icosahedral head and a long non-contractile tail. The double-stranded DNA genome of phage BA3 was composed of 58648 bp with a GC content of 46.30% while phage CA8 was 58480 bp with an average GC content of 46.42%. In total, 85 putative open reading frames (ORFs) were predicted in the phage BA3 genome while 84 were predicted in that of CA8. The ORFs were associated with phage structure, packing, host lysis, DNA metabolism, and additional functions. Furthermore, average nucleotide identity analysis, comparative genomic features and phylogenetic analysis revealed that BA3 and CA8 represented different isolates but novel members of the family, Siphoviridae. Regarding the host range of the 61 V. parahaemolyticus isolates, BA3 and CA8 had an infectivity of 8.2 and 36.1%, respectively. Furthermore, ∼100 plaque-forming units (pfu)/cell for phage BA3 and ∼180 pfu/cell for phage CA8 were determined to be the viral load under laboratory growth conditions. Accordingly, the phage-killing assay in vitro revealed that phage CA8 achieved approximately 3.65 log unit reductions. The present results indicate that CA8 is potentially applicable for biological control of multidrug resistant V. parahaemolyticus.
The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a destructive pest that causes serious damage worldwide, particularly to maize cultivars. The microbiota of S. frugiperda might play a role in its development and adaptability to different environments. However, the dynamics of microbial communities in S. frugiperda during its life cycle remain poorly understood. In this study, we used the amplification of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize the microbiome of all developmental stages of S. frugiperda fed with maize and adults fed with an artificial diet. The microbial composition of maize leaves, soil, and artificial diet was analyzed. Alpha diversity indices indicated that the neonate and early-phase larvae had higher bacterial diversity than late-phase larvae, pupae, and adults, and the bacterial diversity of adults fed with natural leaves was higher than that of adults fed an artificial diet. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the major phyla found in most life stages of S. frugiperda, especially in adults, sixth instars, and pupae. Neonate and early-phase larvae harbored a higher abundance of OD1 and microbes of unassigned taxonomy. A cooccurrence network of the highly abundant genera within S. frugiperda was then constructed, which revealed a potential interaction between the microbiota in insects, such as Enterococcus and Pseudomonas, and the dietary microbiota. Dynamic changes in bacterial communities led to changes in the metabolic functions of the microbiota across developmental stages. The genera OD1, Enterococcus, Comamonas, and Elizabethkingia were estimated to contribute to most of the functional changes in the microbiota of S. frugiperda. Our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the composition of S. frugiperda and its dynamic interaction with dietary microbiota.
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