Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Infectious Diseases
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1530123

Characteristics of the smallest brucellaphage with strong lytic ability

Provisionally accepted
Liu Hongbaiyu Liu Hongbaiyu 1,2Zhong Youhong Zhong Youhong 2*Zhang Zhihong Zhang Zhihong 3Xu Kehong Xu Kehong 2,4Mao Chunpeng Mao Chunpeng 2,5*Yang Qiuju Yang Qiuju 2*Yang Lihua Yang Lihua 2*Yu Binbin Yu Binbin 2*Long Ying Long Ying 1,2*Qin Xinyu Qin Xinyu 2,6*Liyuan Shi Liyuan Shi 2Chang Sheng Chang Sheng 5*Shen Yuanying Shen Yuanying 1*Wang Peng Wang Peng 2*
  • 1 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Dali University, Dali, China
  • 2 Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, China
  • 3 Chuxiong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chuxiong, China
  • 4 Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Entomological Biopharmaceutical, College of Pharmacy, Dali University, Dali, China
  • 5 School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
  • 6 School of Public Health, Dali University, Dali, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Brucellosis is a globally prevalent zoonotic disease caused by Brucella spp. posing significant threats to animal and human health . In this study, a novel lytic brucellaphage designated Y17 was isolated from sheep fecal samples collected in Ludian County, Yunnan Province, China.Transmission electron microscopy revealed that Y17 was composed of an icosahedral head (48.1 ± 2 nm) and a short tail (10.8 ± 1 nm), making it the smallest brucellaphage described so far.The optimal multiplicity of infection (MOI) for phage Y17 is 0.001, with a burst size of approximately 187 PFU/cell, the largest value reported for any brucellaphage, and it has a relatively short latent period. It exhibits broad pH and temperature stability, retaining activity even after 1 hour of exposure to ultraviolet radiation and various ethanol concentrations.Y17shows strong lytic activity against B. abortus and can also infect some B. melitensis strains. The Y17 genome spans 38,025 bp with a GC content of 48.2%, making it the smallest genome among brucellaphages to date. It lacks virulence, antibiotic resistance, or lysogenic genes, indicating its potential as a safe biocontrol agent. Wholegenome average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis reveals high homology across all lytic brucellaphages,but Y17 exhibits relatively lower genome coverage compared to other lytic brucellaphages. Genomic collinearity comparison revealed that Y17 lacks some terminal fragments present in the genomes of other lytic brucellaphages. Furthermore, compared to brucellaphages with genomes larger than 40 kb, Y17 also lacks segments corresponding to ORF21 (amidase), ORF28 (hypothetical protein), and ORF29 (carbohydrate-binding protein).Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Y17 is closely related to phages Iz, Bk2, S708, Wb, R/C, Pr, and Bk. Moreover, the capsid gene shows significantly higher conservation in comparison with the tail collar and amidase genes. This study significantly enriches the brucellaphage database and highlights the potential of Y17 as a biocontrol agent for managing brucellosis in endemic regions.

    Keywords: Phage, Brucella, Biological characteristics, genome analysis, smallest brucellaphage

    Received: 18 Nov 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Hongbaiyu, Youhong, Zhihong, Kehong, Chunpeng, Qiuju, Lihua, Binbin, Ying, Xinyu, Shi, Sheng, Yuanying and Peng. 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:
    Zhong Youhong, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, China
    Mao Chunpeng, School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
    Yang Qiuju, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, China
    Yang Lihua, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, China
    Yu Binbin, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, China
    Long Ying, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Dali University, Dali, 671000, China
    Qin Xinyu, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, China
    Chang Sheng, School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
    Shen Yuanying, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Dali University, Dali, 671000, China
    Wang Peng, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.