The Roseobacter clade is abundant and widespread in marine environments and plays an important role in oceanic biogeochemical cycling. In this present study, a lytic siphophage (labeled vB_DshS-R5C) infecting the strain type of Dinoroseobacter shibae named DFL12T, which is part of the Roseobacter clade, was isolated from the oligotrophic South China Sea. Phage R5C showed a narrow host range, short latent period and low burst size. The genome length of phage R5C was 77, 874 bp with a G+C content of 61.5%. Genomic comparisons detected no genome matches in the GenBank database and phylogenetic analysis based on DNA polymerase I revealed phylogenetic features that were distinct to other phages, suggesting the novelty of R5C. Several auxiliary metabolic genes (e.g., phoH gene, heat shock protein and queuosine biosynthesis genes) were identified in the R5C genome that may be beneficial to the host and/or offer a competitive advantage for the phage. Among siphophages infecting the Roseobacter clade (roseosiphophages), four gene transfer agent-like genes were commonly located with close proximity to structural genes, suggesting that their function may be related to the tail of siphoviruses. The isolation and characterization of R5C demonstrated the high genomic and physiological diversity of roseophages as well as improved our understanding of host-phage interactions and the ecology of the marine Roseobacter.
Keywords: environmental distribution; genome; phylogenetic analysis; roseophage.