Identification, sequencing and molecular analysis of Chp4, a novel chlamydiaphage of Chlamydophila abortus belonging to the family Microviridae.

Members of the family Microviridae have been identified in a number of chlamydial species infecting humans (phage CPAR39 in Chlamydophila pneumoniae), other mammals (φCPG1 in Chlamydophila caviae, Chp2 in Chlamydophila abortus and Chp3 in Chlamydophila pecorum) and birds (Chp1 in Chlamydophila psittaci). This study describes the identification and genome sequencing of Chp4, an icosahedral, 4530 bp, ssDNA phage in C. abortus. Chp4 is predicted to contain eight ORFs, six of which could be assigned putative functions based on sequence similarity to characterized bacteriophage. Gene order and content were highly conserved amongst chlamydiaphage, with the highest sequence variability occurring in the IN5 and INS variable regions of the VP1 major coat protein, which has been associated with host cell recognition and binding. Phylogenetic analysis of VP1 indicated that Chp4 is a member of the Chlamydiamicrovirus, and is most closely related to phage φCPG1 and CPAR39.