Identification and characterization of <i>Faecalibacterium</i> prophages rich in diversity-generating retroelements.

ABSTRACT: Metagenomics has revealed the incredible diversity of phages within the human gut. However, very few of these phages have been subjected to in-depth experimental characterization. One promising method of obtaining novel phages for experimental characterization is through induction of the prophages integrated into the genomes of cultured gut bacteria. Here, we developed a bioinformatic approach to prophage identification that builds on prophage genomic properties, existing prophage-detecting software, and publicly available virome sequencing data. We applied our approach to 22 strains of bacteria belonging to the genus Faecalibacterium, resulting in identification of 15 candidate prophages, and validated the approach by demonstrating the activity of five prophages from four of the st

SUBMITTER: Gulyaeva A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11792537 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature