Abundance and ecological footprint of Pseudoalteromonas phage vB_PhoS_XC in the Ulva prolifera green tide

• Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science Vol. 10
• Main Authors: Sun, Jianhua, Zhang, Xinran, Liang, Yantao, Zheng, Kaiyang, Kennedy, Fraser, Han, Meiaoxue, Liu, Gang, Liu, Yundan, Wang, Ziyue, Chen, Xuechao, Sung, Yeong Yik, Mok, Wen Jye, Wong, Li Lian, McMinn, Andrew, Wang, Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Frontiers Research Foundation 18.07.2023; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: Algae; Bacteria; bacteriophage; Biogeochemistry; Biological properties; Blooms; Burst size; Cell size; Coasts; Ecological footprint; Ecosystems; Enzymes; Genes; Genomes; Genomic analysis; genomic and meta-omics analysis; Green tides; Latent period; Metabolism; Morphology; Open reading frames; pH effects; Phages; Phosphatase; Pseudoalteromonas; Seawater; Stranding; Transmission electron microscopy; Ulva prolifera; Ulva prolifera blooms; Virions; Viruses
• ISSN: 2296-7745; 2296-7745
• DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1201434

Pseudoalteromonas is a ubiquitous and abundant genus of marine bacteria commonly associated with algae. In this study, a novel siphoviral-morphological bacteriophage, vB_PhoS_XC, was isolated from the coastal seawaters of Qingdao (China) during a bloom of the Ulva prolifera ( U. prolifera ) green tide. The morphology of this phage (icosahedron head 51 ± 1 nm in diameter; a tail length of 86 ± 1 nm) was characterized through transmission electron microscope. The biological properties of this virus showed a short latent period (45 minutes), a large burst size (241 virions per cell) and a relatively wide range of temperatures/pH level tolerance (-20°C to 45°C and pH 4 to pH 10, respectively). The vB_PhoS_XC has a 46,490-bp double-stranded DNA genome with a G+C content of 40.0%, and encodes 72 open reading frames (ORFs). Thirty-five of these ORFs were assigned into known functions based on BLAST-based algorithm against NR database of GenBank. In addition, eco-genomic analysis provides the evidence of vB_PhoS_XC accompanied by bloom of U. prolifera , and confirmed the high expression of two phosphatase-metabolism-related auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs). This study provides new insights into the functional and ecological roles of the Pseudoalteromonas phage vB_PhoS_XC, shedding light on the virological study approach combined with traditional isolation and meta-omics data.