Bhensdadia DV, Bhimani HD, Nathani NM, Rawal CM, Koringa PG, Joshi CG, Kothari CR and Kothari RK
Here we describe the isolation of few E. coli phages specifically ADB-2 and S. typhimurium bacteriophages from poultry fecal sample, its molecular characterization, genome sequencing and functional annotation. Escherichia phage ADB-2 was isolated from a chicken fecal sample. It is a virulent phage and shows effective inhibition of Escherichia coli strains. An antibiogram of the natural host of Escherichia phage ADB-2 showed that the host was sensitive against norfloxacin and gentamicin and that it demonstrated higher resistance against cotrimoxazole and oxytetracycline. The data generated from the genomic library contained 229,781 reads and 45,496,800 nucleotide bases with an average read length of 198 bases. The assembly using Newbler version 2.6 generated a 50,552 bp long single chromosome. The genome annotation and comparative analysis of the genome using Rapid Annotation using Subsystem Technology showed that the phage genome comprised of 46% GC with 76 predicted coding regions and 2 RNA genes. The genome confirmed the presence of functional genes related to phage structure and packaging machinery, phage neck protein, tail structure for host interaction, phage DNA synthesis and host lysis. The complete genomic analysis of phage ADB-2 provides new insights into its characteristics and interactions with the host bacterium Escherichia coli. The complete genome sequence of the Escherichia phage ADB-2 genome can be accessed under the Gen Bank accession number JX912252.1.