Bcep176 and Bglu421 - two novel phages contributing to the understanding of pathogenicity and diversity in Burkholderiacae

Phage, although but a fraction of the size of bacteria, can, by lysogenic conversion, transform a harmless bacterium into a ruthless pathogen (3). This paper will discuss two new lysogenic dsDNA tailed phages of Burkholderia. Bcep176 was induced from Burkholderia multivorans ATCC17616, thought to be found in pulmonary infections (9), and Bglu421, from a rice seed isolate of B. glumae BG 10421, known to be the causative agent for rice seed rot (19). The capsid-to-tail proteins and tail assembly cassette of Bcep176 demonstrated significant modular mosaicism to homologs in lambdoid phages phiE125 and phi1026b – phages involved in the study of bacterial bioweapons (13, 26). Bglu421 exhibited modular mosaicism in tail assembly cassette and putative morons to homolog counterparts in a previously unannotated prophage of Burkholderia pseudomallei Pasteur - causative agent of melioidosis in a variety of animals (12). Further analysis of both phages indicates siphophage morphology and lambda-like proteins in Bcep176 and a putative pathogenicity factor in Bglu421. The importance of genomic sequencing and analysis of bacteriophages lies in their role of influencing the pathogenicity of their host (5), and their potential for use as cures of bacterial disease (1).NSF013565