A Bacillus phage is a member of a group of

bacteriophages A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a ''phage'' (), is a duplodnaviria virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from "bacteria" and the Greek φαγεῖν ('), meaning "to devour". Bacterio ...

known to have bacteria in the genus '' Bacillus'' as host species. These bacteriophages have been found to belong to the families '' Myoviridae'', '' Siphoviridae'', '' Podoviridae'', or '' Tectiviridae''. The genus Bacillus includes the model organism, ''B. subtilis'', and two widely known human pathogens, ''B. anthracis'' and ''B. cereus''. Other strains of '' Bacillus'' bacteria that phage are known to infect include ''B. megaterium'', ''B. mycoides'', ''B. pseudomycoides'',

B. thuringiensis ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (or Bt) is a gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, the most commonly used biological pesticide worldwide. ''B. thuringiensis'' also occurs naturally in the gut of caterpillars of various types of moths and butterflie ...

, and ''B. weihenstephanensis''. More than 1,455 bacillus phage have been discovered from many different environments and areas around the world. Only 164 of these phages have been completely sequenced as of December 16, 2021.

Genome diversity

Bacillus phage are classified based on their genome sequences. The total sequence length ranges from 7,826 (in phage pMC8) to 509,170 bp (in phage pHS181) with the GC content of these phage being an average of 38.25%. Within Bacillus phage there are 12 clusters (A-L), 28 subclusters, and 14 singletons. Clusters are groups of related genomes with the 12 clusters showing at least 50% homology between phage. Singletons are phage that have no significant nucleotide similarity to others. The most conserved genes within the Bacillus phage include those that encode tail proteins and other structural proteins, holin, and a site-specific recombinase. One group of gene that is highly variable between Bacillus phage are tRNA genes. The role of phage tRNAs largely depend on their bacterial host, hence the number could widely differ depending on the specific strain of bacteria. Bacillus Phage Cluster Dot-Plot

Characteristics given are cluster assignment, number of subclusters (Sub.), number of phages in the cluster, host species from which the phages were isolated, the average genome size, average percent GC content, average number of ORFS, and the morphotype. Species abbreviations are

Bacillus anthracis ''Bacillus anthracis'' is a gram-positive and rod-shaped bacterium that causes anthrax, a deadly disease to livestock and, occasionally, to humans. It is the only permanent ( obligate) pathogen within the genus ''Bacillus''. Its infection is a ...

(A), Bacillus cereus (C), Bacillus sp. (B), Bacillus megaterium (M), Bacillus pumulis (P), Bacillus subtilis (S),

Bacillus thuringiensis ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (or Bt) is a gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, the most commonly used biological pesticide worldwide. ''B. thuringiensis'' also occurs naturally in the gut of caterpillars of various types of moths and butterflie ...

(T), and Bacillus westenstephanensis MG1, (W). Family/morphotype abbreviations are Tectiviridae (T), Podoviridae (P), Siphoviridae (S), and Myoviridae (M). UK is unknown/unreported.

Applications

The

DNA polymerase A DNA polymerase is a member of a family of enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of DNA molecules from nucleoside triphosphates, the molecular precursors of DNA. These enzymes are essential for DNA replication and usually work in groups to create ...

of Bacillus phage phi29 is a unique and efficient polymerase with

proofreading Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditional ...

activity.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Bacillus Phage Database
Bacillus phages