Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Vibrio Phage vB_ValA_R15Z

• Published in: Current microbiology 2024-09, Vol.81 (9), p.285, Article 285
• Main Authors: Li, Huifang, Zhong, Wanxuan, Zhang, Xinyu, Rui, Zhang, Yang, Yunlan, Xu, Juntian, Gao, Jie, Zhou, Xing, Wu, Jie, Xu, Jie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Bacteriophages - classification; Bacteriophages - genetics; Bacteriophages - isolation & purification; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; China; Contractility; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA structure; DNA, Viral - genetics; Gene sequencing; Genome, Viral; Genomes; Holins; Life Sciences; Lysis; Microbiology; Nucleotide sequence; Phages; Phylogeny; Resistance factors; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Short Communication; Vibrio; Vibrio - genetics; Vibrio - virology; Vibrio alginolyticus; Vibrio alginolyticus - genetics; Vibrio alginolyticus - virology; Virulence factors; Water analysis; Water sampling
• ISSN: 0343-8651; 1432-0991; 1432-0991
• DOI: 10.1007/s00284-024-03736-3

Vibrio phages have emerged as a potential alternative to antibiotic therapy for treating Vibrio infections. In this study, a lytic Vibrio phage, vB_ValA_R15Z against Vibrio alginolyticus ATCC 17749 T , was isolated from an aquatic water sample collected in Xiamen, China. The phage had an icosahedral head (diameter 69 ± 2 nm) and a short, non-contractile tail measuring 16 ± 2 nm. The genome of vB_ValA_R15Z was found to be a double-stranded DNA consisting of 43, 552 bp, containing 54 coding sequences (CDSs) associated with phage packaging, structure, DNA metabolism, lysis and additional functions. The BLASTN results indicated that vB_ValA_R15Z shared less than 90.18% similarity with known phages recorded in the NCBI GenBank database, suggesting that vB_ValA_R15Z was a novel Vibrio phage. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis revealed that vB_ValA_R15Z belongs to the genus Kaohsiungvirus . In addition, a typical lytic mechanism (holin-endolysim) was found in the genome of vB_ValA_R15Z, while no antibiotic resistance- or virulence factor-related gene was detected. Overall, the study provides valuable insights into the isolation and characterization of vB_ValA_R15Z, highlighting its potential as an effective phage therapy option for combating Vibrio alginolyticus infections.