Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Produce Safety and Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #356387
Research Project: Ecology and Detection of Human Pathogens in the Produce Production Continuum

Location: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research

Title: Complete genome sequence of Escherichia Phage vB_EcoM-Pr121LW isolated from soil in an organic farm

Author
item Liao, Yen-Te
item LIU, FANG - Ocean University Of China
item Wu, Vivian

Submitted to: Microbiology Resource Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2018
Publication Date: 11/21/2018
Citation: Liao, Y., Liu, F., Wu, V.C. 2018. Complete genome sequence of Escherichia Phage vB_EcoM-Pr121LW isolated from soil in an organic farm. Microbiology Resource Announcements. 7:e01236-18. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.01236-18.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.01236-18

Interpretive Summary: Bacteriophages are host specific, and the lytic life cycles render its capability to control bacterial pathogens, such as foodborne Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) that can cause severe human illness. Unlike antibiotics, use of bacteriophages is much more cost-efficient and less likely to create superbugs. Here, we identified the phage, Escherichia phage vB_EcoM-Pr121LW, from soil samples collected in an organic farm. The phage has the morphology with a long contractile tail and is lytic against various serogroups of STEC strains (O45, O103, O111 and O121). The genome annotation predicts 50 of 220 genes in total code for proteins with essential functions, such as DNA replication, metabolisms, and structural proteins. In addition, none of these genes are associated with lysogeny formation, antibiotic resistance genes and virulence genes, such as stx and eaeA genes, that can be potentially attributed to the emergence of new bacterial pathogens. The findings of this study suggest that phage Pr121LW has the potential to be used as a biocontrol agent against STEC strains.

Technical Abstract: Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), including serogroups of top six non-O157 and O157, have been contributing to the increasing numbers of foodborne incidences and outbreaks associated with the contaminated produces. Bacteriophages have been shown their potential as alternative biocontrol agents to replace the use of antibiotics or preservatives against these pathogens. Here, we report a new member of rV5-like bacteriophage, Escherichia phage vB_EcoM-Pr121LW, which was isolated from soil sample and lytic against a wide range of STEC strains. The phage contains double-stranded DNA with a 134,575-bp genome and a G+C content of 43.6%. Additionally, it belongs to sub-family Vequintavirinae under Myoviridae and is further classified as rv5-like phage at genus level. Genome annotation predicted 220 open reading frames in which 50 encode proteins with predicted functions mostly for DNA replication and metabolisms, cell lysis and structural integrity. With molecular properties that contain no lysogenic, virulence, and lysogenic genes, this phage is a good candidate as use of biocontrol agent against STEC.