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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2009, p. 2139-2147, Vol. 75, No. 7
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AEM.02352-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Complete Genome of the Broad-Host-Range Erwinia amylovora Phage 
Ea21-4 and Its Relationship to Salmonella Phage Felix O1
,
Susan M. Lehman,1,
Andrew M. Kropinski,2
Alan J. Castle,1 and
Antonet M. Svircev3*
Department of Biological Science, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada,1 Public Health Agency of Canada, Laboratory for Foodborne Diseases, 110 Stone Road West, Guelph, Ontario N1G 3W4, Canada,2 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 4902 Victoria Avenue North, P.O. Box 6000, Vineland Station, Ontario L0R 2E0, Canada3
Received 14 October 2008/ Accepted 22 January 2009
The first complete genome sequence for a myoviridal bacteriophage, 
Ea21-4, infecting Erwinia amylovora, Erwinia pyrifoliae, and Pantoea agglomerans strains has been determined. The unique sequence of this terminally redundant, circularly permuted genome is 84,576 bp. The Ea21-4 genome has a GC content of 43.8% and contains 117 putative protein-coding genes and 26 tRNA genes. Ea21-4 is the first phage in which a precisely conserved rho-independent terminator has been found dispersed throughout the genome, with 24 copies in all. Also notable in the Ea21-4 genome are the presence of tRNAs with six- and nine-base anticodon loops, the absence of a small packaging terminase subunit, and the presence of nadV, a principle component of the NAD+ salvage pathway, which has been found in only a few phage genomes to date. Ea21-4 is the first reported Felix O1-like phage genome; 56% of the predicted Ea21-4 proteins share homology with those of the Salmonella phage. Apart from this similarity to Felix O1, the Ea21-4 genome appears to be substantially different, both globally and locally, from previously reported sequences. A total of 43 of the 117 genes are unique to Ea21-4, and 32 of the Felix O1-like genes do not appear in any phage genome sequences other than Ea21-4 and Felix O1. N-terminal sequencing and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight analysis resulted in the identification of five Ea21-4 genes coding for virion structural proteins, including the major capsid protein.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 4902 Victoria Ave. North, P.O. Box 6000, Vineland Station, Ontario L0R 2E0, Canada. Phone: (905) 562-4113. Fax: (905) 562-4335. E-mail: antonet.svircev{at}agr.gc.ca
Published ahead of print on 30 January 2009.
Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.
Present address: Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mail Stop C-16, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2009, p. 2139-2147, Vol. 75, No. 7
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AEM.02352-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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