Abstract Our previous study on a model microbial community originating from an artisanal cheese fermentation starter revealed that bacteriophages not only co-exist with bacteria but also are highly abundant. Here we describe the genomic content of phage particles released by 6 different strains in the starter culture. The identified prophages belong to three different subgroups of the Siphoviridae P335 phage group. Remarkably, most analysed prophages show disruptions in different tail encoding genes, explaining the common tailless phenotype. Furthermore, a number of potentially beneficial features for the host carried by prophages were identified. The prophages carry up to 3 different phage defence systems per genome that are potentially functional in protecting the host from foreign phage infection. We suggest that the presumably defective prophages are a result of bacteria-phage coevolution and could convey advantages to host bacteria.

中文翻译：

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复合乳酸菌发酵剂中无尾噬菌体的基因组学

摘要我们之前对源自手工奶酪发酵发酵剂的模型微生物群落的研究表明，噬菌体不仅与细菌共存，而且非常丰富。在这里，我们描述了起始培养物中 6 种不同菌株释放的噬菌体颗粒的基因组含量。鉴定出的原噬菌体属于 Siphoviridae P335 噬菌体组的三个不同亚组。值得注意的是，大多数分析的原噬菌体都显示出不同尾部编码基因的破坏，这解释了常见的无尾表型。此外，还确定了许多对原噬菌体携带的宿主有益的特征。原噬菌体的每个基因组携带多达 3 个不同的噬菌体防御系统，这些系统可能具有保护宿主免受外来噬菌体感染的功能。