AUTHOR=Ostenfeld Line Jensen , Sørensen Anders Nørgaard , Neve Horst , Vitt Amira , Klumpp Jochen , Sørensen Martine Camilla Holst 

TITLE=A hybrid receptor binding protein enables phage F341 infection of Campylobacter by binding to flagella and lipooligosaccharides

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1358909

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1358909

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Flagellotropic bacteriophages are interesting candidates as therapeutics against pathogenic bacteria dependent on flagellar motility for colonization and causing disease. Yet, phage resistance other than loss of motility has been scarcely studied. Here we developed a soft agar assay to study flagellotropic phage F341 resistance in motile <italic>Campylobacter jejuni</italic>. We found that phage adsorption was prevented by diverse genetic mutations in the lipooligosaccharides forming the secondary receptor of phage F341. Genome sequencing showed phage F341 belongs to the <italic>Fletchervirus</italic> genus otherwise comprising capsular-dependent <italic>C. jejuni</italic> phages. Interestingly, phage F341 encodes a hybrid receptor binding protein (RBP) predicted as a short tail fiber showing partial similarity to RBP1 encoded by capsular-dependent <italic>Fletchervirus</italic>, but with a receptor binding domain similar to tail fiber protein H of <italic>C. jejuni</italic> CJIE1 prophages. Thus, <italic>C. jejuni</italic> prophages may represent a genetic pool from where lytic <italic>Fletchervirus</italic> phages can acquire new traits like recognition of new receptors.</p>