Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3
Archives of Virology
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-020-04780-7
ANNOTATED SEQUENCE RECORD
Complete genome sequence of Buttiauxella phage vB_ButM_GuL6
Algirdas Noreika
1
· Rolandas Meškys
1
· Justas Lazutka
2
· Laura Kaliniene
1
Received: 16 June 2020 / Accepted: 20 July 2020
© Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
We present here the results of the analysis of the complete genome sequence of a lytic bacteriophage, vB_ButM_GuL6,
which is the frst virus isolated from Buttiauxella. Electron microscopy revealed that vB_ButM_GuL6 belongs to the fam-
ily Myoviridae, order Caudovirales. The genome of vB_ButM_GuL6 is a linear, circularly permuted 178,039-bp dsDNA
molecule with a GC content of 43.4%. It has been predicted to contain 282 protein-coding genes and two tRNA genes,
tRNA-Met and tRNA-Gly. Using bioinformatics approaches, 99 (36%) of the vB_ButM_GuL6 genes were assigned a putative
function. Genome-wide comparisons and phylogenetic analysis indicated that vB_ButM_GuL6 represents a new species of
the subfamily Tevenvirinae and is most closely related to Escherichia virus RB43. These phages, together with Cronobacter
phages Miller, CfP1, and IME-CF2, likely form a new genus within the subfamily Tevenvirinae.
The genus Buttiauxella, family Enterobacteriaceae within
the class Gammaproteobacteria, includes aerobic and fac-
ultatively anaerobic Gram-negative motile rods, which are
negative for oxidase. Buttiauxella is widely distributed in
nature and is frequently isolated from fresh water, soil, the
intestines of snails or slugs, and, occasionally, from human
sources [1, 2]. It has been reported that bacteriophages,
viruses that infect bacteria, outnumber their bacterial hosts
at least tenfold [3]. However, to date, there are no Buttiaux-
ella phage genome sequences in the databases. We report
here the results of the analysis of the complete genome
sequence of a novel bacteriophage, vB_ButM_GuL6 (sub-
sequently referred to by its shorter common laboratory name
GuL6), isolated using Buttiauxella sp. environmental isolate
G6 as a host.
Both bacteriophage GuL6 and its host, Buttiauxella sp.
isolate G6 (verifed by 16S rRNA sequencing, accession
number MT337563), were isolated from windfall hawthorn
(Crataegus nigra) berries harvested from a private garden
(54° 47’ 23.28’’ N/25° 22’ 59.196’’ E; Vilnius, Lithu-
ania). A standard sample enrichment technique was used
[4], with incubation at 22 °C. For phage purifcation, bac-
teria were cultivated aerobically in LB medium at 37 °C,
and the phage was propagated using the soft-agar overlay
method [4]. When plated, phage GuL6 formed small, clear
plaques (diameter, < 1 mm), indicating a lytic life style. The
morphology of CsCl-purifed phage particles was examined
using a Morgagni TM 268(D) transmission electron micro-
scope (FEI, Oregon, USA) as described previously [5]. TEM
micrographs showed that GuL6 has a contractile tail and
may belong to the family Myoviridae, order Caudovirales
(Supplementary Fig. S1).
GuL6 DNA was extracted from a high-titer stock
(10
11
–10
12
PFU/ml), using a standard phenol/chloroform
extraction and ethanol precipitation method [6], and then
sent to BaseClear (Leiden, The Netherlands) for genome
sequencing, quality assessment of the sequence reads, and
de novo assembly, as described in the Supplementary File.
A single viral contig with 3,558-fold coverage was obtained,
and the genome sequence was annotated and analyzed
using Geneious Prime (v2020.1.2, https://www.geneious.
com), tRNAscan-SE [7], BLAST [8], and HHPred [9]. The
genome of GuL6 was found to be a linear, circularly per-
muted 178,039-bp dsDNA molecule, with a GC content of
Handling Editor: Johannes Wittmann.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this
article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-020-04780-7) contains
supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
* Laura Kaliniene
laura.kaliniene@bchi.vu.lt
1
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology,
Institute of Biochemistry, Vilnius University Life Sciences
Center, Saulėtekio av. 7, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
2
Department of Eukaryote Gene Engineering, Institute
of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Saulėtekio av. 7,
10257 Vilnius, Lithuania