Expanding the Diversity of Mycobacteriophages: Insights into Genome Architecture and Evolution
Document Type
Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1371/journal.pone.0016329
Journal Title
PLoS ONE
Publication Date
2011
Abstract
Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All mycobacteriophages characterized to date are dsDNA tailed phages, and have either siphoviral or myoviral morphotypes. However, their genetic diversity is considerable, and although sixty-two genomes have been sequenced and comparatively analyzed, these likely represent only a small portion of the diversity of the mycobacteriophage population at large. Here we report the isolation, sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 18 new mycobacteriophages isolated from geographically distinct locations within the United States. Although no clear correlation between location and genome type can be discerned, these genomes expand our knowledge of mycobacteriophage diversity and enhance our understanding of the roles of mobile elements in viral evolution. Expansion of the number of mycobacteriophages grouped within Cluster A provides insights into the basis of immune specificity in these temperate phages, and we also describe a novel example of apparent immunity theft. The isolation and genomic analysis of bacteriophages by freshman college students provides an example of an authentic research experience for novice scientists.
Publisher Statement
Copyright: 2011 Hatfull et al.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Recommended Citation
Pope WH, Jacobs-Sera D, Russell DA, Peebles CL, Al-Atrache Z, et al. (2011) Expanding the Diversity of Mycobacteriophages: Insights into Genome Architecture and Evolution. PLoS ONE 6(1): e16329. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016329.
Comments
Funding: National Institutes of Health Grant GM51975; Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The University of Pittsburgh was supported through a Professor's grant from HHMI. The Science Education Alliance (SEA) program at HHMI also supported the 12 participating institutions in offering a research-based course for freshman undergraduates. HHMI participated in course design and implementation, and designed tools for data analysis.