title: Prevalence of Pf1-like (pro)phage genetic elements among Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.
abstract: Pf1-like bacteriophages (family Inoviridae) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa can contribute to bacterial short term evolution and virulence. Here we examine Pf1-like (pro)phage diversity and prevalence among different P. aeruginosa isolates. Pf1-like prophages in sequenced genomes of P. aeruginosa were analyzed and grouped into four clades: Pf4, Pf5, Pf7 and Pf-LES. P. aeruginosa strains (n=241) were screened for the presence of universal (primers PfUa and PfUb) and specific Pf1-like genetic elements (Pf1, Pf4 and Pf5). More than half of the strains contained at least one Pf1-like genetic element (60%); universal elements were detected in 56% of the strains, Pf4 in 22%, Pf1 in 18% and Pf5 in 7%. Infectivity experiments confirmed that strains yielding PCR products with either universal or Pf4 specific primers can release infective virions. Based on the high prevalence of Pf1-like (pro)phages, it is necessary to further examine their involvement in P. aeruginosa virulence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovica 2, 21000 Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia. Electronic address: petar.knezevic@dbe.uns.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Petar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Knezevic
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Gene Technology, Department Biosystems, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 21 box 2462, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marleen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voet
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Gene Technology, Department Biosystems, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 21 box 2462, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lavigne
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D039002:Prophages / Q000235:genetics*; D017105:Pseudomonas Phages / Q000235:genetics*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Pf1-like phage; Prevalence; Pseudomonas aeruginosa prophage