Genomic characterization of bacteriophage pSal-SNUABM-01, a novel elongated-head phage infecting Salmonella sp.

Salmonellosis is a disease of critical concern for public health, and the use of bacteriophages is among the most promising approaches to combating Salmonella. As Salmonella has various serotypes and strains, and bacteriophages are virulent to specific hosts, it is important to isolate phages and evaluate interactions with their hosts. In the present study, a novel Salmonella-infecting bacteriophage, pSal-SNUABM-01, was isolated and characterized. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the bacteriophage is a member of the family Podoviridae and possesses an elongated head and a short tail. The phage genome is circular and 89,500 bp in size. A total of 162 open reading frames were predicted, eight of which were tRNAs. Morphological and genomic analysis revealed that pSal-SNUABM-01 is closely related to phage 7-11. In phylogenetic analysis, pSal-SNUABM-01 and 7-11 did not cluster together with the members of any established genus, suggesting that these two phages comprise a novel genus. The results of this study enhance our understanding of the phylogeny of the family Podoviridae and might be applicable to the development of bacteriophage treatments against Salmonella infections.