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Complete genome sequence analysis, morphology and structural protein identification of two Bacillus subtilis phages, BSTP4 and BSTP6, which may form a new species in the genus Salasvirus

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Abstract

In the present study, two new Bacillus subtilis phages, BSTP4 and BSTP6, were isolated and studied further. Morphologically, BSTP4 and BSTP6 are podoviruses with complete genome of 19,145 (39.9% G + C content) and 19,367 bp (39.8% G + C content), respectively, which became among the smallest Bacillus phages. Three most prominent structural proteins were separated and identified as pre-neck appendage, major head, and head fiber proteins using LC–MS/MS. Both phages encode putative terminal proteins (TP) and contain short inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) which may be important for their replication. In addition, non-coding RNA (pRNA) and parS sites were identified which may be required for DNA packaging and their maintenance inside the host, respectively. Furthermore, the phage genome sequences show significant similarity to B. subtilis group species genome sequences. Finally, phylogenomic and phylogenetic analyses suggest that BSTP4 and BSTP6 may form a new species in the genus Salasvirus, subfamily Picovirinae of family Salasmaviridae. Considering the small numbers of ICTV-accepted B. subtilis phages and the importance of the host in the food industry and biotechnology, the current study helps to improve our understanding of the diversity of B. subtilis phages and shed light on the phage–host relationships.

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Data availability

The genomes of the phages are deposited in NCBI with GenBank accession number MW354668.1 for BSTP4 and MW354670.1 for BSTP6.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) for resource support as well as the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), Korea Government (MSIT), and Global Korea Scholarship Program [GKS] for financial support.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea Government (MSIT) [grant number: 2021R1A2C2008022].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea

    Haftom Baraki Abraha & Kwang-Pyo Kim

  2. Department of Agricultural Convergence Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea

    Kwang-Pyo Kim

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  1. Haftom Baraki Abraha
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Contributions

KPK and HBA conceived and designed the experiments. KPK supervised the experiment and critically reviewed the manuscript for its enrichment. HBA did the experiment, analysis, and wrote the draft of the manuscript. Both authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Kwang-Pyo Kim.

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Abraha, H.B., Kim, KP. Complete genome sequence analysis, morphology and structural protein identification of two Bacillus subtilis phages, BSTP4 and BSTP6, which may form a new species in the genus Salasvirus. Virus Genes 59, 624–634 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-023-01998-w

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