title: [Isolation and characterization of a lytic bacteriophage from Mingyong glacier melt water].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Glacier is a unique ecological system. This study focused on the isolation and characterization of a cold-active bateriophage from Mingyong glacier area in northwest Yunnan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Bacterial strains isolated from glacial melt water were used as host cells to isolate and purify bacteriophages by double-layer plate method. The morphology of the isolated phages and their host strains were observed by electron microscope. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of genomic DNA, constituent proteins and physiological analysis of the bacteriophages were further carried out to characterize the phages.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A lytic cold-active bacteriophage, designated as MYSP03, was isolated from Mingyong glacier. Its host strain MYB03 was identified as a member of genus Flavobacterium, based on the 16S rRNA sequence analysis. The bacteriophage MYSP03 has a isometric head (about 72 nm in diameter) and a long tail (about 240 nm in length and 10 nm in width), but no envelope was detected. Physiological analysis results showed that MYSP03 had infection activity at 4 degrees C, and clear and transparent plaques were formed on double-layer plates between 4 and 20 degrees C. Its optimum infection temperature was 10 degrees C and optimal pH 9.4, respectively. It is insensitive to chloroform. Furthermore, the genome of MYSP03 consists of double-stranded DNA and is approximately 66 kb.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China.
authors.forename: Mingyuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiuling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Baoqiang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lianbing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yunlin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D002725:Chloroform / Q000494:pharmacology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D046448:Ice Cover / Q000821:virology*; D013696:Temperature; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D002725:Chloroform