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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1550801
This article is part of the Research Topic Expanded Genus Brucella: from Taxonomy to Clinical Manifestations and Diagnosis Challenges View all 6 articles
Morphological, Lytic, and Genetic Characteristics of Three Brucella Phages Isolated from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Provisionally accepted- National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing, China
This study comprehensively examined three Brucella phages (A1, NMY-1, and NMY-2) isolated from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Electron microscopy classified them as short -tailed phages. A1 and NMY-1 lysed smooth strains of B. abortus, B. melitensis, and B. suis, while NMY-2 lysed rough strains of B. melitensis and B. canis.The optimal multiplicity of infection for A1, NMY-1, and NMY-2 was lower than that of TbC. A1 and NMY-2 had short growth cycles, and NMY-1 had a long one. All three phages showed high stability against temperature, pH, and ultraviolet exposure. Their genomes were double -stranded DNA, about 38 kb long with a 48% GC content. For each phage, 53 genes were predicted, with no drug -resistance, virulence, or lysogenic genes identified. SNP and InDel analysis revealed significant differences in genes encoding hypothesized tail -collar proteins. Based on SNP data, the phylogenetic tree indicated that phage BkW (GenBank: KC556893) was the closest relative of A1, NMY-1, and NMY-2. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of Brucella phage diversity, which is crucial for developing phagebased biocontrol strategies. The host -lysis spectra can guide the selection of effective phages for treating Brucella infections. The absence of harmful genes makes these phages potential safe candidates for phage therapy. Moreover, the genetic and phylogenetic insights support further research on phage evolution and classification.
Keywords: Brucella, Brucella phage, phylogenetic tree, Whole-genome analysis, diversity
Received: 28 Dec 2024; Accepted: 01 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Piao, Xu, Fan, Zhao, Li, Tian, Han and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hai Jiang, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing, China
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