Abstract
BACKGROUND: Phages impact Bacillus subtilis microbial dynamics, but our understanding of the diversity of phages that can lyse this model organism is limited. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Phages were isolated from soil collected from two Southwest United States desert sites on wild B. subtilis strains. Phage genomes were assembled and bioinformatically characterized, and phage host range was assessed. RESULTS: Four myoviruses with high nucleotide and amino acid similarity to each other (>97%) and to three phages in GenBank (>82%), including SIOphi, were isolated. These phages have double-stranded DNA genomes (153,882-156,577 bp), low GC content, and 256-270 putative protein coding genes (28-30% with predicted functions). Comparative genomics revealed differences in putative lysis and replication genes. CONCLUSIONS: Comparative approaches provide insight into phage evolution, identifying unique genes shared within phage clusters. Better characterization of Bacillus phages will aid in linking genetic differences among phages (e.g., lysin genes) to phenotype (e.g., host range).