Characterization of mycobacteria and mycobacteriophages isolated from compost at the Sao Paulo Zoo Park Foundation in Brazil and creation of the new mycobacteriophage Cluster U

Author(s):Show less -

Lima-Junior, James Daltro ^[1] ; Viana-Niero, Cristina ^[2] ; Conde Oliveira, Daniel V. ^[1] ; Machado, Gabriel Esquitini ^[1] ; da Silva Rabello, Michelle Cristiane ^[3] ; Martins-Junior, Joaquim ^[4] ; Martins, Layla Farage ^[4] ; Digiampietri, Luciano Antonio ^[5] ; da Silva, Aline Maria ^[4] ; Setubal, Joao Carlos ^{[4, 6]} ; Russell, Daniel A. ^[7] ; Jacobs-Sera, Deborah ^[7] ; Pope, Welkin H. ^[7] ; Hatfull, Graham F. ^[7] ; Leao, Sylvia Cardoso ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, Campus Diadema, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Ctr Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhaes, Recife, PE - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Quim, Dept Bioquim, BR-01498 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Artes Ciencias & Humanidades, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Virginia Bioinformat Inst, Blacksburg, VA 24060 - USA

^[7] Univ Pittsburgh, Dept Biol Sci, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BMC Microbiology; v. 16, JUN 17 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Background: A large collection of sequenced mycobacteriophages capable of infecting a single host strain of Mycobacterium smegmatis shows considerable genomic diversity with dozens of distinctive types (clusters) and extensive variation within those sharing evident nucleotide sequence similarity. Here we profiled the mycobacterial components of a large composting system at the Sao Paulo zoo. Results: We isolated and sequenced eight mycobacteriophages using Mycobacterium smegmatis mc(2)155 as a host. None of these eight phages infected any of mycobacterial strains isolated from the same materials. The phage isolates span considerable genomic diversity, including two phages (Barriga, Nhonho) related to Subcluster A1 phages, two Cluster B phages (Pops, Subcluster B1; Godines, Subcluster B2), three Subcluster F1 phages (Florinda, Girafales, and Quico), and Madruga, a relative of phage Patience with which it constitutes the new Cluster U. Interestingly, the two Subcluster A1 phages and the three Subcluster F1 phages have genomic relationships indicating relatively recent evolution within a geographically isolated niche in the composting system. Conclusions: We predict that composting systems such as those used to obtain these mycobacteriophages will be a rich source for the isolation of additional phages that will expand our view of bacteriophage diversity and evolution. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/50870-6 - Studies of microbial diversity in the Zoological Park of the State of São Paulo
• Grantee: João Carlos Setubal
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/18326-4 - Mycobacteria and extrachromosomal elements: molecular characterization and biotechnological applications
• Grantee: Sylvia Luisa Pincherle Cardoso Leão
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 12/04911-5 - Isolation, purification and characterization of environmental micobacteriophages
• Grantee: James Daltro Lima Junior
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 14/01825-6 - Characterization of a Mycobacterium avium conjugative plasmid
• Grantee: Gabriel Esquitini Machado
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master