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Viruses
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Research on Viruses of Microbes in Belgium
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Research on Viruses of Microbes in Belgium

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "General Virology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 14475

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ariane Toussaint

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Microbiologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Université Libre de Bruxelles, IBMM-DBM, 12 Rue des Professeurs Jeneer et Brachet, B-6041 Gosselies, Belgium
Interests: bacteriophages; horizontal gene transfer; transposition; evolution; gene annotation
Dr. Maia Merabishvili

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LabMCT, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
Interests: clinical microbiology; bacteriophages; phage therapy; antimicrobials; molecular genetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

By organizing the first BSVOM symposium (www.bsvom.be) on 23 September 2022, the Belgian Society for Viruses of Microbes will be inaugurated. BSVOM aims to support future generations of Belgian scientists interested in the myriad microbial viruses infecting single-cell microorganisms, bacteria, archaea, protists, algae, and fungi.

Belgium holds a historical position in the field of bacterial viruses (phages), as attested to by, e.g., reports in 1921 by A. Gratia on a Staphylococcus phage and by R. Bruynoghe and J. Maisin on the first experimental therapeutic use of phages, by the discovery of positive control of gene expression in phage lambda by R. Thomas and coworkers in the late 1960s, and the first complete sequencing of a bacterial virus genome by Walter Fiers's group in the 1970s. More recently, Belgium has achieved significant progress in the application of phage therapy due to its dedicated flexible regulatory system known as “the magistral phage”.

The present Special Issue of the journal Viruses will complement this BSVOM meeting. It calls on Belgian scientists and their collaborators from the international scientific community to submit research papers, reviews, and short communications on current trends of fundamental and applied research on viruses of microbes with an emphasis on phages and phage therapy in Belgium.

Dr. Ariane Toussaint
Dr. Maia Merabishvili
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biology, ecology and evolution of viruses of microbes
  • virus host interactions
  • bacteriophages (phages)
  • phage therapy

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1958 KiB  
Article
Isolation and Characterization of Lytic Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacteriophages Isolated from Sewage Samples from Tunisia
by Ismahen Akremi, Maya Merabishvili, Mouna Jlidi, Adel Haj Brahim, Manel Ben Ali, Anis Karoui, Rob Lavigne, Jeroen Wagemans, Jean-Paul Pirnay and Mamdouh Ben Ali
Viruses 2022, 14(11), 2339; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112339 - 25 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2141
Abstract
Bacteriophages could be a useful adjunct to antibiotics for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. In this study, lytic P. aeruginosa myoviruses PsCh, PsIn, Ps25, and Ps12on-D were isolated from Tunisian sewage samples. Phage Ps12on-D displayed an adsorption time of ~10 min, [...] Read more.
Bacteriophages could be a useful adjunct to antibiotics for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. In this study, lytic P. aeruginosa myoviruses PsCh, PsIn, Ps25, and Ps12on-D were isolated from Tunisian sewage samples. Phage Ps12on-D displayed an adsorption time of ~10 min, a short latency period (~10 min), and a large burst size (~115 PFU per infected cell) under standard growth conditions. All phages were active at broad temperature (4 °C to 50 °C) and pH (3.0 to 11.0) ranges and were able to lyse a wide variety of P. aeruginosa strains isolated from clinical and environmental samples worldwide. Illumina sequencing revealed double-stranded DNA genomes ranging from 87,887 and 92,710 bp with high sequence identity to Pseudomonas phage PAK_P1. All four phages based on sequence analysis were assigned to the Pakpunavirus genus. The presented characterization and preclinical assessment are part of an effort to establish phage therapy treatment as an alternative strategy for the management of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa infections in Tunisia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Viruses of Microbes in Belgium)
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Review

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27 pages, 4557 KiB  
Review
Phage Adsorption to Gram-Positive Bacteria
by Audrey Leprince and Jacques Mahillon
Viruses 2023, 15(1), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15010196 - 10 Jan 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5907
Abstract
The phage life cycle is a multi-stage process initiated by the recognition and attachment of the virus to its bacterial host. This adsorption step depends on the specific interaction between bacterial structures acting as receptors and viral proteins called Receptor Binding Proteins (RBP). [...] Read more.
The phage life cycle is a multi-stage process initiated by the recognition and attachment of the virus to its bacterial host. This adsorption step depends on the specific interaction between bacterial structures acting as receptors and viral proteins called Receptor Binding Proteins (RBP). The adsorption process is essential as it is the first determinant of phage host range and a sine qua non condition for the subsequent conduct of the life cycle. In phages belonging to the Caudoviricetes class, the capsid is attached to a tail, which is the central player in the adsorption as it comprises the RBP and accessory proteins facilitating phage binding and cell wall penetration prior to genome injection. The nature of the viral proteins involved in host adhesion not only depends on the phage morphology (i.e., myovirus, siphovirus, or podovirus) but also the targeted host. Here, we give an overview of the adsorption process and compile the available information on the type of receptors that can be recognized and the viral proteins taking part in the process, with the primary focus on phages infecting Gram-positive bacteria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Viruses of Microbes in Belgium)
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19 pages, 1543 KiB  
Review
The Emerging Role of the Gut Virome in Health and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Challenges, Covariates and a Viral Imbalance
by Daan Jansen and Jelle Matthijnssens
Viruses 2023, 15(1), 173; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15010173 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2612
Abstract
Virome research is a rapidly growing area in the microbiome field that is increasingly associated with human diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although substantial progress has been made, major methodological challenges limit our understanding of the virota. In this review, we [...] Read more.
Virome research is a rapidly growing area in the microbiome field that is increasingly associated with human diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although substantial progress has been made, major methodological challenges limit our understanding of the virota. In this review, we describe challenges that must be considered to accurately report the virome composition and the current knowledge on the virome in health and IBD. First, the description of the virome shows strong methodological biases related to wetlab (e.g., VLP enrichment) and bioinformatics approaches (viral identification and classification). Second, IBD patients show consistent viral imbalances characterized by a high relative abundance of phages belonging to the Caudovirales and a low relative abundance of phages belonging to the Microviridae. Simultaneously, a sporadic contraction of CrAss-like phages and a potential expansion of the lysogenic potential of the intestinal virome are observed. Finally, despite numerous studies that have conducted diversity analysis, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions due to methodological biases. Overall, we present the many methodological and environmental factors that influence the virome, its current consensus in health and IBD, and a contributing hypothesis called the “positive inflammatory feedback loop” that may play a role in the pathophysiology of IBD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Viruses of Microbes in Belgium)
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Other

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13 pages, 1612 KiB  
Conference Report
Foundation of the Belgian Society for Viruses of Microbes and Meeting Report of Its Inaugural Symposium
by Agnieszka Latka, Abram Aertsen, Dimitri Boeckaerts, Bob Blasdel, Pieter-Jan Ceyssens, Abel Garcia-Pino, Annika Gillis, Rob Lavigne, Gipsi Lima-Mendez, Jelle Matthijnssens, Jolien Onsea, Eveline Peeters, Jean-Paul Pirnay, Damien Thiry, Dieter Vandenheuvel, Els Van Mechelen, Jolien Venneman, Gilbert Verbeken, Jeroen Wagemans and Yves Briers
Viruses 2023, 15(5), 1213; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15051213 - 22 May 2023
Viewed by 1658
Abstract
The Belgian Society for Viruses of Microbes (BSVoM) was founded on 9 June 2022 to capture and enhance the collaborative spirit among the expanding community of microbial virus researchers in Belgium. The sixteen founders are affiliated to fourteen different research entities across academia, [...] Read more.
The Belgian Society for Viruses of Microbes (BSVoM) was founded on 9 June 2022 to capture and enhance the collaborative spirit among the expanding community of microbial virus researchers in Belgium. The sixteen founders are affiliated to fourteen different research entities across academia, industry and government. Its inaugural symposium was held on 23 September 2022 in the Thermotechnical Institute at KU Leuven. The meeting program covered three thematic sessions launched by international keynote speakers: (1) virus–host interactions, (2) viral ecology, evolution and diversity and (3) present and future applications. During the one-day symposium, four invited keynote lectures, ten selected talks and eight student pitches were given along with 41 presented posters. The meeting hosted 155 participants from twelve countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Viruses of Microbes in Belgium)
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8 pages, 715 KiB  
Obituary
Twenty Years of Collaboration to Sort out Phage Mu Replication and Its Dependence on the Mu Central Gyrase Binding Site
by Ariane Toussaint and N. Patrick Higgins
Viruses 2023, 15(3), 637; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15030637 - 27 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1207
Abstract
For 20 years, the intricacies in bacteriophage Mu replication and its regulation were elucidated in collaboration between Ariane Toussaint and her co-workers in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and the groups of Martin Pato and N. Patrick Higgins [...] Read more.
For 20 years, the intricacies in bacteriophage Mu replication and its regulation were elucidated in collaboration between Ariane Toussaint and her co-workers in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and the groups of Martin Pato and N. Patrick Higgins in the US. Here, to honor Martin Pato’s scientific passion and rigor, we tell the history of this long-term sharing of results, ideas and experiments between the three groups, and Martin’s final discovery of a very unexpected step in the initiation of Mu replication, the joining of Mu DNA ends separated by 38 kB with the assistance of the host DNA gyrase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Viruses of Microbes in Belgium)
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