Three of a Kind: Genetically Similar Tsukamurella Phages TIN2, TIN3, and TIN4
ABSTRACTThreeTsukamurellaphages, TIN2, TIN3, and TIN4, were isolated from activated sludge treatment plants located in Victoria, Australia, using conventional enrichment techniques. Illumina and 454 whole-genome sequencing of theseSiphoviridaeviruses revealed that they had similar genome sequences, ranging in size between 76,268 bp and 76,964 bp. All three phages shared 74% nucleotide sequence identity to the previously describedGordoniaphage GTE7. Genome sequencing suggested that phage TIN3 had suffered a mutation in one of its lysis genes compared to the sequence of phage TIN4, to which it is genetically very similar. Mass spectroscopy data showed the unusual presence of a virion structural gene in the DNA replication module of phage TIN4, disrupting the characteristic modular genome architecture ofSiphoviridaephages. All three phages appeared highly virulent on strains ofTsukamurella inchonensisandTsukamurella paurometabola.