The enemy insight: tectiviruses preying on the Bacillus cereus sensu lato group
(2013) The International Conference on Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis (Bacillus-ACT 2013) — Location: Victoria, Canada (1.September.2013)
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- Tectiviridae comprises non-enveloped tail-less phages with a double-layer capsid where the ~15 kb linear dsDNA is located within a lipid-containing membrane covered by a rigid icosahedral protein capsid. GIL01/Bam35, GIL16 and AP50 are temperate tectiviruses preying on the B. cereus group. These phages also exhibit a strong similarity to the B. cereus linear plasmid pBClin15. Despite the significant contributions of phages in different environments and biological processes, little is known about the interactions taking place between tectiviruses and their respective Grampositive hosts. Therefore, this work aimed at characterizing the interactions between tectiviruses and the B. cereus sensu lato group, mainly by assessing their occurrence, diversity and exploiting their host range. To study the occurrence of tectiviral-elements, more than 2,300 strains belonging to the B. cereus group were assessed, using primers designed based on whole genome alignments of previously described tectiviral-elements. This strain collection included all recognized B. cereus sensu lato species, except Bacillus cytotoxicus. PCR and propagation tests revealed that tectiviral-elements occurred in less than 2.5% of the examined strains. Despite its limited distribution, some novel tectiviruses were found, and partial DNA sequencing indicated that a greater diversity exists within the Tectiviridae. In an effort to address the host-range of some new tectiviruses found in this work, 120 strains belonging to the B. cereus sensu lato group, which did not harbor tectiviral elements, were tested for sensitivity. The results showed that nearly all the tectiviruses produced lysis in more than one strain, despite their narrow host-range. Additionally, some life-trait changes and ecological adaptations were observed in known sensitive strains when they were challenged with tectiviruses. Beyond a fundamental contribution towards understanding the general infection structure and resistance patterns between tectiviruses and this B. cereus group, this study should provide information needed to develop tools for typing and controlling bacteria belonging to this group.
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Gillis, A., Wattiau, P., & Mahillon, J. (2013). The enemy insight: tectiviruses preying on the Bacillus cereus sensu lato group. The International Conference on Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis (Bacillus-ACT 2013), Victoria, Canada. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/194976