Diversity of limestone bacteriophages infecting Dickeya solani isolated in the Czech Republic

Seven novel tailed lytic viruses (Ds3CZ, Ds5CZ, Ds9CZ, Ds16CZ, Ds20CZ, Ds23CZ, Ds25CZ) infecting the bacterium Dickeya solani were isolated in the Czech Republic. Genomes of these viruses are dsDNA, 149,364 to 155,285 bp in length, and the genome arrangement is very similar to that of the type virus Dickeya virus LIMEstone 1. All but the Ds25CZ virus should be regarded as strains of a single species. Most of the sequence differences are due to the presence or absence of homing endonuclease (HE) genes, with 23 HEs found in Ds3CZ, Ds5CZ, and Ds20CZ, 22 in Ds9CZ, 19 in Ds16CZ, 18 in Ds25CZ, and 15 in Ds23CZ.

Automated summary

Seven novel tailed lytic viruses infecting Dickeya solani were discovered in the Czech Republic, with genomes similar to Dickeya virus LIMEstone 1. Except for one virus, they should all be considered strains of the same species. The differences in sequences are mainly due to the presence or absence of homing endonuclease genes.