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Virol J. 2008; 5: 75.
Published online 2008 June 6. doi: 10.1186/1743-422X-5-75.
PMCID: PMC2430549
Morphological evidence for phages in Xylella fastidiosa
Jianchi Chencorresponding author1 and Edwin L Civerolo1
1San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, Agricultural Research Services, United States Department of Agriculture, Parlier, California, 93648, USA
corresponding authorCorresponding author.
Jianchi Chen: jianchi.chen/at/ars.usda.gov; Edwin L Civerolo: edwin.civerolo/at/ars.usda.gov
Received April 17, 2008; Accepted June 6, 2008.
Abstract
Presumptive phage particles associated with Xylella fastidiosa strain Temecula-1 grown in PW broth were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in ultrathin sections of bacterial cell-containing low speed centrifugation pellets and in partially purified preparations from CsCl equilibrium centrifugation density gradients. Ultrathin-sectioned cell pellets contained icosahedral particles of about 45 nm in diameter. Samples collected from CsCl density gradients revealed mostly non-tailed icosahedral but also tailed particles. The icosahedral particles could be divided into two types: a large type (about 45 nm) and a small type (about 30 nm). Filamentous phage-like particles (17 × 120 to 6,300 nm) were also observed. The presence of different types of phage-like particles resembling to those in several bacteriophage families provides new physical evidence, in addition to X. fastidiosa genomic information, that X. fastidiosa possesses active phages. This is the first report of phage particles released in X. fastidiosa cultures.