title: Biodiversity of bacteriophages: morphological and biological properties of a large group of phages isolated from urban sewage.
abstract: A large scale analysis presented in this article focuses on biological and physiological variety of bacteriophages. A collection of 83 bacteriophages, isolated from urban sewage and able to propagate in cells of different bacterial hosts, has been obtained (60 infecting Escherichia coli, 10 infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 4 infecting Salmonella enterica, 3 infecting Staphylococcus sciuri, and 6 infecting Enterococcus faecalis). High biological diversity of the collection is indicated by its characteristics, both morphological (electron microscopic analyses) and biological (host range, plaque size and morphology, growth at various temperatures, thermal inactivation, sensitivity to low and high pH, sensitivity to osmotic stress, survivability upon treatment with organic solvents and detergents), and further supported by hierarchical cluster analysis. By the end of the research no larger collection of phages from a single environmental source investigated by these means had been found. The finding was confirmed by whole genome analysis of 7 selected bacteriophages. Moreover, particular bacteriophages revealed unusual biological features, like the ability to form plaques at low temperature (4 °C), resist high temperature (62 °C or 95 °C) or survive in the presence of an organic solvents (ethanol, acetone, DMSO, chloroform) or detergent (SDS, CTAB, sarkosyl) making them potentially interesting in the context of biotechnological applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Evolution University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jurczak-Kurek
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology (affiliated with University of Gdańsk), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gąsior
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, and University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Bożena
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nejman-Faleńczyk
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, and University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Sylwia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, and University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dydecka
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, and University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Gracja
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Topka
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, and University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Necel
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Marine Biotechnology, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jakubowska-Deredas
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Narajczyk
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Malwina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Richert
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Evolution University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mieszkowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Marine Biotechnology, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot, Poland.|Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Umultowska 89, 61-614, Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Borys
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wróbel
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, and University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Węgrzyn
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology (affiliated with University of Gdańsk), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Alicja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Węgrzyn
mesh_terms: D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D044822:Biodiversity; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*; D013696:Temperature; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage