title: Characterization and complete genome sequence analysis of novel bacteriophage IME-EFm1 infecting Enterococcus faecium.
abstract: We isolated and characterized a novel virulent bacteriophage, IME-EFm1, specifically infecting multidrug-resistant Enterococcus faecium. IME-EFm1 is morphologically similar to members of the family Siphoviridae. It was found capable of lysing a wide range of our E. faecium collections, including two strains resistant to vancomycin. One-step growth tests revealed the host lysis activity of phage IME-EFm1, with a latent time of 30 min and a large burst size of 116 p.f.u. per cell. These biological characteristics suggested that IME-EFm1 has the potential to be used as a therapeutic agent. The complete genome of IME-EFm1 was 42 597 bp, and was linear, with terminally non-redundant dsDNA and a G+C content of 35.2 mol%. The termini of the phage genome were determined with next-generation sequencing and were further confirmed by nuclease digestion analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a complete genome sequence of a bacteriophage infecting E. faecium. IME-EFm1 exhibited a low similarity to other phages in terms of genome organization and structural protein amino acid sequences. The coding region corresponded to 90.7 % of the genome; 70 putative ORFs were deduced and, of these, 29 could be functionally identified based on their homology to previously characterized proteins. A predicted metallo-β-lactamase gene was detected in the genome sequence. The identification of an antibiotic resistance gene emphasizes the necessity for complete genome sequencing of a phage to ensure it is free of any undesirable genes before use as a therapeutic agent against bacterial pathogens.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.|School of Life Science & Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tong Jia Xiang, Nanjing 210009, PR China.
authors: Yahui
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, PR China.|State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Laboratory, Dalian Beihai Hospital, Dalian Liaoning 116021, PR China.
authors: Yongqiang
authors: Y
authors: Lv
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
authors: Wangliang
authors: W
authors: Zheng
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
authors: Zhiqiang
authors: Z
authors: Mi
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
authors: Guangqian
authors: G
authors: Pei
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
authors: Xiaoping
authors: X
authors: An
authors: Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, PR China.|State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
authors: Xiaomeng
authors: X
authors: Xu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
authors: Chuanyin
authors: C
authors: Han
authors: The General Hospital of Beijing Military Command, Beijing 100041, PR China.
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: School of Life Science & Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tong Jia Xiang, Nanjing 210009, PR China.
authors: Changlin
authors: C
authors: Zhou
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, PR China.
authors: Yigang
authors: Y
authors: Tong
mesh_terms: D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000821:virology*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D058507:Host Specificity; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D017906:Siphoviridae / Q000235:genetics; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral