Malaysian Journal of Biochemistry

& Molecular Biology
 (E-ISSN: 2600-9005)
The Official Publication of the Malaysian Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (MSBMB) 
Indexed by SCOPUS and Malaysian Citation Index (MYCITE)

Tran Khai Van, Trong-Tuong Ho, Ho Viet The, Hoang Anh Hoang

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BIOLOGICAL AND GENOMIC CHARACTERIZATION OF BACTERIOPHAGE vB_AerC_CT68P2 AGAINST Aeromonas dhakensis CAUSING HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE IN STRIPED CATFISH

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Abstract 

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Aeromonas dhakensis is a main bacterial pathogen in striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus). In this study, five lytic bacteriophages were isolated from pond water and evaluated for their ability to control A. dhakensis. The inhibitory activities of these phages against ten A. dhakensis strains were first assessed. Among them, the vB_AerC_CT68P2 phage (CT68P2 as short) was selected for further characterization due to its strong virulence against the host strain A. dhakensis 4.4T and its broad host range. The one-step growth curve experiment showed CT68P2 had a short latent period of 30 minutes and a high burst size of 168 PFU/cell. Its genome is linear, double-stranded DNA with a length of 52,686 bp and a G+C content of 52%. Of the 80 predicted ORFs, 32 were assigned putative functions. No known antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors, or lysogeny-associated genes were detected. Genome-based classification shows that CT68P2 belongs to the Chaseviridae family. Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses further reveal the close relationship of CT68P2 to other Aeromonas phages isolated from fish farms in Vietnam. This is one of the first reports on the biological and genomic characterization of bacteriophages against A. dhakensis in striped catfish. CT68P2 stands out as a promising candidate for controlling A. dhakensis infection in striped catfish in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

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