Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, China.
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Dali, China.
Arch Virol. 2024 Jun 5;169(7):134. doi: 10.1007/s00705-024-06005-7.
Anthrax is an acute infectious zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, a bacterium that is considered a potential biological warfare agent. Bacillus bacteriophages shape the composition and evolution of bacterial communities in nature and therefore have important roles in the ecosystem community. B. anthracis phages are not only used in etiological diagnostics but also have promising prospects in clinical therapeutics or for disinfection in anthrax outbreaks. In this study, two temperate B. anthracis phages, vB_BanS_A16R1 (A16R1) and vB_BanS_A16R4 (A16R4), were isolated and showed siphovirus-like morphological characteristics. Genome sequencing showed that the genomes of phages A16R1 and A16R4 are 36,569 bp and 40,059 bp in length, respectively. A16R1 belongs to the genus Wbetavirus, while A16R4 belongs to the genus Hubeivirus and is the first phage of that genus found to lyse B. anthracis. Because these two phages can comparatively specifically lyse B. anthracis, they could be used as alternative diagnostic tools for identification of B. anthracis infections.
炭疽是一种由炭疽杆菌引起的急性传染性人畜共患病,炭疽杆菌被认为是一种潜在的生物战剂。杆菌噬菌体塑造了自然界中细菌群落的组成和进化,因此在生态系统群落中具有重要作用。B. anthracis 噬菌体不仅用于病因诊断,而且在炭疽爆发时的临床治疗或消毒方面也具有广阔的前景。在这项研究中,分离到了两种温和的 B. anthracis 噬菌体,vB_BanS_A16R1(A16R1)和 vB_BanS_A16R4(A16R4),它们表现出类似丝状噬菌体的形态特征。基因组测序表明,噬菌体 A16R1 和 A16R4 的基因组长度分别为 36569bp 和 40059bp。A16R1 属于 Wbetavirus 属,而 A16R4 属于 Hubeivirus 属,是第一个发现能裂解 B. anthracis 的该属噬菌体。由于这两种噬菌体可以相对特异性地裂解 B. anthracis,因此它们可以用作炭疽感染鉴定的替代诊断工具。