Complete Genome Sequence of IME15, the First T7-Like

Abstract

T7-like bacteriophages are a class of virulent bacteriophages which have a clearer genetic background and smaller genomes than other phages. In addition, it grows faster and is easier to culture than other phages. At present, the numbers of available T7-like bacteriophage genomes and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia genomes are small, and IME15 is the first T7-like virulent Stenotrophomonas phage whose sequence has been reported. It shows effective lysis of S. maltophilia. Here we announce its complete genome, andmajor findings from its annotation are described. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is one of the most prevalent op-portunistic bacteria causing nosocomial infections. It has be-come problematic because most isolates are resistant to multiple antibiotics (3), and therefore, development of phage therapy is now considered a good alternative biocontrol method to inhibit the pathogen (12). Bacteriophage products were considered “gen-erally recognized as safe ” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-tion (FDA) in 2006 (4). The long history of bacteriophage therapy in some eastern European countries such as Georgia and Poland (5) convinced us that the phage therapy approach could be useful for inhibiting pathogenic Stenotrophomonas strains