title: Molecular characterization of T4-type bacteriophages in a rice field.
abstract: Bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria, are the most abundant biological entities in the biosphere and play a key role in global biogeochemical cycling. All T4-type bacteriophage isolates tested so far have a conserved genetic module that encodes the virion components including gene 23 (g23), the major capsid protein. Molecular analysis of the g23 sequence revealed a remarkable level of diversity of T4-type bacteriophages isolated from rice straw and surface soil in a Japanese rice field. It was found that g23 sequences obtained from the rice field were quite distinctive from those obtained in marine environments. Phylogenetic analysis showed that most of these g23 sequences belonged to two novel subgroups of T4-type bacteriophages, although some of them were related to well-studied subgroups of T4-type bacteriophages, such as marine cyanophage isolates of exoT-evens.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Soil Biology and Chemistry, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan. jia@mpi-marburg.mpg.de
authors.forename: Zhongjun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Rie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asakawa
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
mesh_terms: D017122:Bacteriophage T4 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005814:Genes, Viral; D012275:Oryza / Q000821:virology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins