Bacteriophages (phages) are ubiquitous entities present in every conceivable habitat as a result of their bacterial parasitism. Their prevalence and impact in the ecology of bacterial communities and their ability to control pathogens make their characterization essential, particularly of new phages, improving knowledge and potential application. The isolation and characterization of a new lytic phage against Sphaerotilus natans strain DSM 6575, named vB_SnaP-R1 (SnaR1), is here described. Besides being the first sequenced genome of a Sphaerotilus natans infecting phage, 99% of its 41507 bp genome lacks homology with any other sequenced phage, revealing its uniqueness and previous lack of knowledge. Moreover, SnaR1 is the first Podoviridae phage described infecting this bacterium. Sphaerotilus natans is an important filamentous bacterium due to its deleterious effect on wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and thus, phages may play a role as novel biotechnological tools against filamentous overgrowth in WWTP. The lytic spectrum of SnaR1 was restricted to its host strain, infecting only one out of three S. natans strains and infection assays revealed its ability to reduce bacterial loads. Results suggest SnaR1 as the prototype of a new phage genus and demonstrates its potential as a non-chemical alternative to reduce S. natans DSM 6575 cells.

中文翻译：

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第一个测序的 Sphaerotilus natans 噬菌体——表征和控制其丝状细菌宿主的潜力

由于细菌寄生，噬菌体（噬菌体）是无处不在的实体，存在于每个可以想象的栖息地。它们在细菌群落生态中的流行和影响以及它们控制病原体的能力使得它们的表征至关重要，特别是新的噬菌体，提高了知识和潜在的应用。此处描述了针对 Sphaerotilus natans 菌株 DSM 6575 的新裂解噬菌体的分离和表征，称为 vB_SnaP-R1 (SnaR1)。除了是感染 Sphaerotilus natans 噬菌体的第一个测序基因组之外，其 41507 bp 基因组中的 99% 与任何其他测序的噬菌体缺乏同源性，揭示了它的独特性和以前缺乏知识。此外，SnaR1 是第一个被描述感染该细菌的 Podoviridae 噬菌体。Sphaerotilus natans 是一种重要的丝状细菌，因为它对污水处理厂 (WWTP) 有有害影响，因此，噬菌体可以作为一种新的生物技术工具来对抗 WWTP 中的丝状过度生长。SnaR1 的裂解谱仅限于其宿主菌株，仅感染三种 S. natans 菌株中的一种，感染测定显示其具有减少细菌负荷的能力。结果表明 SnaR1 是一种新噬菌体属的原型，并证明了其作为减少 S. natans DSM 6575 细胞的非化学替代物的潜力。natans 菌株和感染测定显示其能够减少细菌负荷。结果表明 SnaR1 是一种新噬菌体属的原型，并证明了其作为减少 S. natans DSM 6575 细胞的非化学替代物的潜力。natans 菌株和感染测定显示其能够减少细菌负荷。结果表明 SnaR1 是一种新噬菌体属的原型，并证明了其作为减少 S. natans DSM 6575 细胞的非化学替代物的潜力。