Complete genome sequence of the temperate bacteriophage phiSTEC1575-Stx2k induced from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli

Abstract

Abstract A temperate phage, phiSTEC1575-Stx2k, was induced by mitomycin C treatment from a clinical Escherichia coli isolate producing a recently identified Shiga toxin 2k subtype. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that phiSTEC1575-Stx2k belongs to the family Siphoviridae. The complete genome of the phage contained 46,647 bp of circular double-stranded DNA with an average G+C content of 51%. Eighty putative open reading frames were predicted, 44 of which encode proteins involved in phage integration, DNA packaging and replication, regulation, toxicity, bacterial lysis, and morphogenesis. The phage was determined to be inserted into the dusA of lysogenic host chromosome by comparative genomic analysis. These results expand our knowledge on the genomic characteristics of Stx phages.