title: Genetic Diversity ofBrucellaReference and Non-reference Phages and Its Impact onBrucella-Typing.
abstract: Virulent phages have been used for many years to typeBrucellaisolates, but until recently knowledge about the genetic makeup of these phages remains limited. In this work the host specificity and genomic sequences of the original set (deposited in 1960) of VLABrucellareference phages Tb, Fi, Wb, Bk2, R/C, and Iz were analyzed and compared with hitherto described brucellaphages. VLA phages turned out to be different from homonymous phages in other laboratories. The host range of the phages was defined by performing plaque assays with a wide selection ofBrucellastrains. Propagation of the phages on different strains did not alter host specificity. Sequencing of the phages TbV, FiV, WbV, and R/CVrevealed nucleotide variations when compared to same-named phages previously described by other laboratories. The phages Bk2Vand IzVwere sequenced for the first time. While Bk2Vexhibited the same deletions as WbV, IzVpossesses the largest genome of allBrucellareference phages. The duplication of a 301 bp sequence in this phage and the large deletion in Bk2V, WbV, and R/CVmay be a result of recombination caused by repetitive sequences located in this DNA region. To identify new phages as potential candidates for lysotyping, the host range and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) of 22 non-referenceBrucellaphages were determined. The phages showed lysis patterns different from those of the reference phages and thus represent novel valuable candidates in the typing set.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hammerl
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Göllner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jäckel
authors.affiliation: German Center for Infection Research, Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Scholz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nöckler
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reetz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Dahouk
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hertwig
keywords: Brucella; genome; lysotyping; phage; virulent