Expanding the diversity of oenococcal bacteriophages: insights into a novel group based on the integrase sequence

Abstract

Temperate bacteriophages are a contributor of the genetic diversity in the lactic acid bacterium Oenococcus oeni. We used a classification scheme for oenococcal prophages based on integrase gene polymorphism, to analyze a collection of Oenococcus strains mostly isolated in the area of Bordeaux, which represented the major lineages identified through MLST schemes in the species. Genome sequences of oenococcal prophages were clustered into four integrase groups (A to D) which were related to the chromosomal integration site. The prevalence of each group was determined and we could show that members of the intB- and intC-prophage groups were rare in our panel of strains. Our study focused on the so far uncharacterized members of the intD-group. Various intD viruses could be easily isolated from wine samples, while intD lysogens could be induced to produce phages active against two permissive O. oeni isolates. These data support the role of this prophage group in the biology of O. oeni. Global alignment of three relevant intD-prophages revealed significant conservation and highlighted a number of unique ORFs that may contribute to phage and lysogen fitness.

Keywords: Lysogeny; Malolactic fermentation; Oenococcus oeni; Prophage induction.