Characterization of a Shiga toxin 2-encoding bacteriophageMin27 isolated from Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strain of China

A Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) -encoding bacteriophage ФMin27, isolated from Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain of China, having a regular hexagonal head and short tail, was integrated into the host wrbA gene and sequenced with a length of 63,395 nucleotides. ФMin27 had a high homology compared to reported Stx2 phage 933W, while three genes (O, P and ORF31) in the replication region were homologous to genes of phage Shigella flexneri V (SFV) of S. flexneri 5 strain 8401 isolated in China. It demonstrated that ФMin27 was closely related to phage 933W though they were isolated from different geographic areas, but an obvious regionally genetic exchange had occurred in its replication region.   Key words: Stx2 bacteriophage, ФMin27, phage micrograph, integration site, phage genome.