title: Molecular Analysis of Arthrobacter Myovirus vB_ArtM-ArV1: We Blame It on the Tail.
abstract: This is the first report on a myophage that infectsArthrobacterA novel virus, vB_ArtM-ArV1 (ArV1), was isolated from soil usingArthrobactersp. strain 68b for phage propagation. Transmission electron microscopy showed its resemblance to members of the familyMyoviridae: ArV1 has an isometric head (∼74 nm in diameter) and a contractile, nonflexible tail (∼192 nm). Phylogenetic and comparative sequence analyses, however, revealed that ArV1 has more genes in common with phages from the familySiphoviridaethan it does with any myovirus characterized to date. The genome of ArV1 is a linear, circularly permuted, double-stranded DNA molecule (71,200 bp) with a GC content of 61.6%. The genome includes 101 open reading frames (ORFs) yet contains no tRNA genes. More than 50% of ArV1 genes encode unique proteins that either have no reliable identity to database entries or have homologues only inArthrobacterphages, both sipho- and myoviruses. Using bioinformatics approaches, 13 ArV1 structural genes were identified, including those coding for head, tail, tail fiber, and baseplate proteins. A further 6 ArV1 ORFs were annotated as encoding putative structural proteins based on the results of proteomic analysis. Phylogenetic analysis based on the alignment of four conserved virion proteins revealed thatArthrobactermyophages form a discrete clade that seems to occupy a position somewhat intermediate between myo- and siphoviruses. Thus, the data presented here will help to advance our understanding of genetic diversity and evolution of phages that constitute the orderCaudoviralesIMPORTANCEBacteriophages, which likely originated in the early Precambrian Era, represent the most numerous population on the planet. Approximately 95% of known phages are tailed viruses that comprise three families:Podoviridae(with short tails),Siphoviridae(with long noncontractile tails), andMyoviridae(with contractile tails). Based on the current hypothesis, myophages, which may have evolved from siphophages, are thought to have first emerged among Gram-negative bacteria, whereas they emerged only later among Gram-positive bacteria. The results of the molecular characterization of myophage vB_ArtM-ArV1 presented here conform to the aforementioned hypothesis, since, at a glance, bacteriophage vB_ArtM-ArV1 appears to be a siphovirus that possesses a seemingly functional contractile tail. Our work demonstrates that such "chimeric" myophages are of cosmopolitan nature and are likely characteristic of the ecologically important soil bacterial genusArthrobacter.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania laura.kaliniene@bchi.vu.lt.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaliniene
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Eugenijus
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Šimoliūnas
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Lidija
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Truncaitė
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Aurelija
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zajančkauskaitė
authors.affiliation: Department of Eukaryote Gene Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Juozas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nainys
authors.affiliation: Proteomics Centre, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Algirdas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaupinis
authors.affiliation: Proteomics Centre, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Mindaugas
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valius
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Rolandas
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meškys
mesh_terms: D001173:Arthrobacter / Q000821:virology*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001482:Base Composition; D019295:Computational Biology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D023061:Gene Order; D016679:Genome, Viral; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D017900:Myoviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D017376:Viral Tail Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014771:Virion / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D017376:Viral Tail Proteins
keywords: Arthrobacter; Myoviridae; Siphoviridae; bacterial viruses; bacteriophage evolution; tailed viruses; vB_ArtM-ArV1