A new bacteriophage species described by researchers of the Institute of Experimental Medicine

Enterococci are part of the intestinal microbiota of healthy humans and animals and are widely used as lactic acid cultures and components of probiotic preparations. On the other hand, enterococci can cause severe infections, including healthcare-associated ones.

Enterococcal viruses, or enterococcus phages, are also an important component of the human microbiota. Bacteriophages regulate the number of bacteria and are involved in the processes of horizontal gene transfer between bacteria. Their number is associated with diseases of the intestines, liver and the development of cancer.

Researchers of the Institute of Experimental Medicine described the particle morphology and genome-wide sequence of the temperate bacteriophage VEsP-1 isolated from the To Lich River in Hanoi, Vietnam. A search of international databases revealed eight similar viruses previously found in human intestinal samples. However, none of them has been cultured and described. Using computational methods of genome analysis, it was shown that these viruses and VEsP-1 belong to a new species of bacteriophages.

An article describing the results of the study and proposing the identification of a new species of Vespunovirus has been submitted to the journal Viruses.

27.12.2022