Complete genome analysis of bacteriophage AsXd-1, a new member of the genus Hk97virus, family Siphoviridae

Abstract

AsXd-1, a bacteriophage that infects Aeromonas salmonicida, was isolated from the wastewater of a seafood market in Shenzhen, China. The 39,014-bp genome of this phage contains 52 open reading frames (ORFs), 30 of which were found to be homologous to reference sequences that putatively encode functional phage proteins. Nine out of the remaining 22 ORFs with unknown functions were unique to AsXd-1. Gene annotation suggests that AsXd-1 has both lysogenic and lytic life cycles. Furthermore, both phylogenetic analysis based on the large subunit of terminase and genome sequence comparisons show that AsXd-1 is closely related to phages belonging to the genus Hk97virus. We thus propose AsXd-1 as a new member of the genus Hk97virus within the family Siphoviridae.