Novel bacteriophages targeting wheat phyllosphere bacteria carry DNA modifications and single-strand breaks.

The phyllosphere microbiome can positively or negatively impact plant health and growth, but we currently lack the tools to control microbiome composition. Contributing to a growing collection of bacteriophages (phages) targeting bacteria living in the wheat phyllosphere, we here isolate and sequence eight novel phages targeting common phyllosphere Erwinia and Pseudomonas strains, including two jumbo phages. We characterize genomic, phylogenetic, and morphological traits from these phages and argue for establishing four novel viral genera.

Widespread and largely unknown prophage activity, diversity, and function in two genera of wheat phyllosphere bacteria.

Environmental bacteria host an enormous number of prophages, but their diversity and natural functions remain largely elusive. Here, we investigate prophage activity and diversity in 63 Erwinia and Pseudomonas strains isolated from flag leaves of wheat grown in a single field. Introducing and validating Virion Induction Profiling Sequencing (VIP-Seq), we identify and quantify the activity of 120 spontaneously induced prophages, discovering that some phyllosphere bacteria produce more than 10 virions/mL in overnight cultures, with significant induction also observed in planta.

Pheno- and Genotyping of Three Novel Bacteriophage Genera That Target a Wheat Phyllosphere Genus.

Bacteriophages are viral agents that infect and replicate within bacterial cells. Despite the increasing importance of phage ecology, environmental phages-particularly those targeting phyllosphere-associated bacteria-remain underexplored, and current genomic databases lack high-quality phage genome sequences linked to specific environmentally important bacteria, such as the ubiquitous sphingomonads. Here, we isolated three novel phages from a Danish wastewater treatment facility.

Simulation and identification of foodborne outbreaks in a large supermarket consumer purchase dataset.

Foodborne outbreaks represent a significant public health burden. Outbreak investigations are often challenging and time-consuming, and most outbreak vehicles remain unidentified. The development of alternative investigative strategies is therefore needed.