Characterization and complete genome sequence of bacteriophage vB_Vc_SrVc2, a marine phage that infects Vibrio campbellii

Abstract Vibrio campbellii is widely distributed in the marine environment and is an important pathogen of aquatic organisms such as shrimp, fish, and mollusks. The emergence of multi-drug resistance among these bacteria resulted in a worldwide public health problem, which requires alternative treatment approaches such as phage therapy. In the present study, we isolated a phage vB_Vc_SrVc2 from white shrimp hepatopancreas with symptoms of AHPND. Phage vB_Vc_SrVc2 is a member of the genus Maculvirus and the family Autographiviridae, with high lytic ability against Vibrio isolates. Phage has a high resistance to a broad range of temperatures, salinity, UV radiation and chloroform. The genome size was 43,157 bp, with a GC content of 49.2% that encodes 49 putative ORFs, no tRNAs, showed three single nucleotide polymorphisms, two small deletions and one nucleotide insertion compared to SrVc9, showing slightly different infectivity profiles.. No lysogeny related genes were detected in vB_Vc_SrVc2 genome. Overall phage vB_Vc_SrVc2 has a good potential for therapeutic use in the aquaculture industry against V. campbellii infections.