title: Cultivation and characterization of the MaMV-DC cyanophage that infects bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa.
abstract: The MaMV-DC cyanophage, which infects the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa, was isolated from Lake Dianchi, Kunming, China. Twenty-one cyanobacterial strains were used to detect the host range of MaMV-DC. Microcystic aeruginosa FACHB-524 and plaque purification were used to isolate individual cyanophages, and culturing MaMV-DC with cyanobacteria allowed us to prepare purified cyanophages for further analysis. Electron microscopy demonstrated that the negatively stained viral particles are tadpole-shaped with an icosahedral head approximately 70 nm in diameter and a contractile tail approximately 160 nm in length. Using one-step growth experiments, the latent period and burst size of MaMV-DC were estimated to be 24-48 hours and approximately 80 infectious units per cell, respectively. Restriction endonuclease digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis were performed using purified MaMV-DC genomic DNA, and the genome size was estimated to be approximately 160 kb. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis revealed four major structural proteins. These results support the growing interest in using freshwater cyanophages to control bloom-forming cyanobacterium.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.forename: Sanhua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiangyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Qiya
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D058507:Host Specificity; D060106:Lakes / Q000821:virology*; D046931:Microcystis / Q000821:virology*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D014771:Virion / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins