May the phage be with you? Prophage-like elements in the genomes of Soft Rot Pectobacteriaceae (Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp.)

Abstract

Soft Rot Pectobacteriaceae (SRP; Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp., formerly known as pectinolytic Erwinia spp.) are necrotrophic bacterial pathogens infecting large number of plant species worldwide including agriculturally-important crops. Regardless of the SRP importance in agriculture, little is known about the bacteriophages infecting Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. and even less about prophages present in SRP genomes. Prophages are recognized as factors underlying bacterial virulence, genomic diversification and ecological fitness and have association with the novel phenotypic properties of bacterial hosts. Likewise, they are recognized as a driving force of bacterial evolution. The aim of this study was to analyze Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. complete genome sequences downloaded from GenBank (NCBI) for the presence of prophage sequences following their identification and (comparative) characterization with the main focus on current and upcoming perspectives in that field.