Nocardiosis, an infection caused by bacterium Nocardia seriolae, contributes to severe economic losses in the aqua-cultured fish species Seriola quinqueradiata and Seriola dumerili in Japan. Phage therapy is a potential solution for combating this infection.
Materials and Methods:
A lytic bacteriophage infecting N. seriolae (JCM3359) was isolated from water samples collected at various fish farms. The bacteriophage was characterized by electron microscopy, host range analysis, and genomic profiling.
Results:
The isolated lytic bacteriophage, NS-I (accession no. OP429095.1), had a siphovirus morphotype with a broad lytic spectrum, as it infected all the tested N. seriolae strains (15/15). Its genome was a 43,361 bp double-stranded DNA molecule, exhibiting a GC content of 67% with 94% similarity to Gordonia bacteriophage Gustav at the genome level.
Conclusion:
Lytic bacteriophage NS-I shows promise as a biocontrol agent for nocardiosis infection in fish farms and warrants further investigation.
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