Isolation, Characterization, and Genome Sequence Analysis of a Novel Lytic Phage, Xoo-sp15 Infecting Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (X. oryzae) is a bacterial pathovar of rice diseases all over the world. Owing to emerging antibacterial resistance, phage therapies have gained significant attention to treat various bacterial infections. Nevertheless, comprehensive research is needed for their use as a safe biocontrol agent. In this study, isolation and characterization of a novel phage Xoo-sp15, that infects X. oryzae was ascertained through experimental and bioinformatics analyses to determine its virulent potency and reliability. High throughput sequencing demonstrated that Xoo-sp15 has a dsDNA genome with a total size of 157,091 bp and 39.9% GC content lower than its host (63.6%). Morphological and phylogenetic analyses characterized it as a new member of the Bastille-like group within the family Herelleviridae. In silico analysis revealed that it contains 229 open reading frames and 16 tRNAs. Additionally, this novel phage does not contain any resistant determinants and can infect nine X. oryzae strains. Therefore, Xoo-sp15 has the potential to serve as a novel candidate for phage therapy.