Evolved Populations of Shigella flexneri Phage Sf6 Acquire Large Deletions, Altered Genomic Architecture, and Faster Life Cycles.

ABSTRACT: Genomic architecture is the framework within which genes and regulatory elements evolve and where specific constructs may constrain or potentiate particular adaptations. One such construct is evident in phages that use a headful packaging strategy that results in progeny phage heads packaged with DNA until full rather than encapsidating a simple unit-length genome. Here, we investigate the evolution of the headful packaging phage Sf6 in response to barriers that impede efficient phage adsorption to the host cell. Ten replicate populations evolved faster Sf6 life cycles by parallel mutations found in a phage lysis gene and/or by large, 1.2- to 4.0-kb deletions that remove a mobile genetic IS911 element present in the ancestral phage genome. The fastest life cycles were found in phages that

SUBMITTER: Dover JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5630979 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature