Survey of major capsid genes (g23) of T4-type bacteriophages in Japanese paddy field soils

Many studies have shown the ecological importance of viruses as the greatest genomic reservoirs on the planet. As bacteriophages (phages) comprise the majority of viruses in the environment, we surveyed the capsid genes (g23) of T4-type phages, Myoviridae, from DNA extracts of three paddy field soils located in northern, central and southern Japan using the degenerate primers MZIA1bis and MZIA6. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was performed to separate PCR-amplified g23 products, and 56 DGGE bands were identified as g23 fragments. Only nine clones were grouped into T-evens, PseudoT-evens and ExoT-evens, and most of the other clones were classified into Paddy Groups I–VI. No significantly different distribution of g23 clones was observed among the paddy fields at the group level, indicating that phage communities estimated from the g23 composition were common on the nationwide level. Comparison of g23 sequences showed that g23 genes in paddy fields were different from those in marine environments, and more divergence of g23 genes was estimated in the paddy fields compared to the marine environment. Two novel g23 clones with very short amino acid residues were detected, suggesting the existence of uncharacterized, novel groups of g23 genes in paddy field soils.