Renewed insights into Ackermannviridae phage biology and applications

Abstract

The Ackermannviridae family was established in 2017, containing phages previously classified within the Myoviridae family under the Viunalikevirus genus. Ackermannviridae phages have been increasingly studied due to their broad range of hosts among Enterobacteriaceae, and currently, 174 complete genomes are available on NCBI. Instrumental for their wide host infectivity, Ackermannviridae phages display a branched complex of multiple Tail Spike Proteins (TSPs). These TSPs recognize diverse surface polysaccharide receptors, allowing the phages to target strains with distinct lipopolysaccharides or capsular polysaccharides. This review gives an updated overview of the taxonomy and hosts of the expanding Ackermannviridae family with significant emphasis on recent advances in structural and computational biology for elucidating TSP diversity, structural domains, and assembly of the branched TSP complex. Furthermore, we explore the potential of engineering Ackermannviridae phages and discuss the challenges of using transducing wildtype phages for biocontrol. Finally, this review identifies bottlenecks hindering further advances in understanding Ackermannviridae phage biology and applications.