Characterization of a new ViI-like Erwinia amylovora bacteriophage phiEa2809

Abstract

Erwinia amylovora is a Gram-negative plant pathogenic bacteria causing fire blight disease in many Rosaceae species. A novel E. amylovora bacteriophage, phiEa2809, was isolated from symptomless apple leaf sample collected in Belarus. This phage was also able to infect Pantoea agglomerans strains. The genome of phiEa2809 is a double-stranded linear DNA 162,160 bp in length, including 145 ORFs and one tRNA gene. The phiEa2809 genomic sequence is similar to the genomes of the Serratia plymutica phage MAM1, Shigella phage AG-3, Dickeya phage vB DsoM LIMEstone1 and Salmonella phage ViI and lacks similarity to described E. amylovora phage genomes. Based on virion morphology (an icosahedral head, long contractile tail) and genome structure, phiEa2809 was classified as a member of Myoviridae, ViI-like bacteriophages group. PhiEa2809 is the firstly characterized ViI-like bacteriophage able to lyse E. amylovora.

Pantoea Bacteriophage vB_PagS_Vid5: A Low-Temperature Siphovirus That Harbors a Cluster of Genes Involved in the Biosynthesis of Archaeosine

“…Both of these Pantoea phages, namely bacteriophages LIMElight and LIMEzero, are classified within the Autographivirinae subfamily of the Podoviridae . However, a number of broad-host range Erwinia or Serratia phages have been reported to be able to infect bacteria from the genus Pantoea [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 16 ]. To our knowledge, all of these bacteriophages, with the exception of siphoviruses PhiEaH1 [ 12 ], PhiEaH2 [ 13 ], KEY [ 14 ], and phiOT8 [ 16 ], have been assigned to the families Myoviridae or Podoviridae .…”

“…Nevertheless, it has been shown that a number of completely sequenced Erwinia bacteriophages are active on bacteria from the genus Pantoea [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. It is not surprising, because Pantoea is closely related to Tatumella and Erwinia , the three forming a monophyletic group nested within the other enterobacterial genera, such as Escherichia , Salmonella , Citrobacter , Enterobacter , Klebsiella, and Cronobacter [ 1 , 10 , 11 ].…”

Characterization of the Lytic Bacteriophage phiEaP-8 Effective against Both Erwinia amylovora and Erwinia pyrifoliae Causing Severe Diseases in Apple and Pear

“…Interestingly, the apple orchard in Yongin, South Korea where phiEaP-8 was isolated has never been infected with either E. amylovora or E. pyrifoliae . In a previous paper ( Lagonenko et al, 2015 ), phiEa2809 was isolated from the leaves of an apple tree without fire blight symptoms in an apple orchard where fire blight was never detected. The genus Erwinia is classified to the Enterobacteriaceae family, which includes both pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria in genera such as Erwinia , Enterobacter , Pantoea , Pectobacterium , and Brenneria ( Kado, 2006 ).…”

Complete Genome Sequences of Erwinia amylovora Phages vB_EamP-S2 and vB_EamM-Bue1

“…Both S2 and Bue1 encode putative exopolysaccharide (EPS) depolymerases, which degrade the amylovoran component of the host’s capsule ( 12 ). Similar genes are present in E. amylovora phages vB_EamP-L1 (GenBank accession number NC_019510 ; T7virus) ( 4 ), Ea9-2 (GenBank accession number NC_023579 ; Ea92virus) ( 13 ), and phiEa2809 ( 14 ). This widespread prevalence of EPS depolymerases among E. amylovora podoviruses and myoviruses indicates an importance in host infection and specificity.…”