title: Site-specific recombination of T2 phage using IP008 long tail fiber genes provides a targeted method for expanding host range while retaining lytic activity.
abstract: The application of bacteriophages (phages) in therapy urgently requires the production of wide-host-range recombinant phages that possess strong lytic activity. The wide-host-range IP008 phage was classified by transmission electron microscopy analysis as an A2 morphotype member of the Myoviridae family of the order Caudovirales. IP008 showed a high homology (99.4% similarity in the amino acid alignment of the major capsid protein Gp 23) with KEP10, another wide-host-range phage. The long tail fiber genes (genes 37 and 38) from the genome of T2 were replaced with those of the IP008 phage by homologous recombination. The host range of the recombinant phages was identical to that of IP008. Furthermore, the recombinant phage bacterial lytic activity was restored. Future analyses of host-range mutants of the closely related phages T2 and IP008 could lead to a more precise localization of the genetic factors responsible for receptor specificity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Faezeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mahichi
authors.forename: Aidan John
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Synnott
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamichi
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osada
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanji
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001433:Bacteriolysis / Q000502:physiology; D017122:Bacteriophage T4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000821:virology*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017900:Myoviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017376:Viral Tail Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017376:Viral Tail Proteins