''Kuttervirus'' is a genus of

bacteriophages A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a ''phage'' (), is a duplodnaviria virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from "bacteria" and the Greek φαγεῖν ('), meaning "to devour". Bacterio ...

in the family '' Ackermannviridae''. The genus contains 40 species.

Characterization

The heads of these phages are

icosahedral In geometry, an icosahedron ( or ) is a polyhedron with 20 faces. The name comes and . The plural can be either "icosahedra" () or "icosahedrons". There are infinitely many non- similar shapes of icosahedra, some of them being more symmetrica ...

in nature. Their tails are composed of a collared neck (similar in structure to that of a

T4 phage Escherichia virus T4 is a species of bacteriophages that infect ''Escherichia coli'' bacteria. It is a double-stranded DNA virus in the subfamily ''Tevenvirinae'' from the family Myoviridae. T4 is capable of undergoing only a lytic lifecycle ...

), “a sheath surrounding a tail tube or core, a thin base plate, and an

adsorption Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions or molecules from a gas, liquid or dissolved solid to a surface. This process creates a film of the ''adsorbate'' on the surface of the ''adsorbent''. This process differs from absorption, in which a f ...

structure” Notably, a series of unique protrusions can be found stemming from the base plate of these organisms. 3 to 4 thick, rounded prongs (located at the bottom of the base plate) and an equal number of thinner, star-like protrusions (attached to the sides of the baseplate via a stalk) have been observed in members of the genus. Members of the genus are similar in terms of

genomics Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, three-dim ...

. All species in the genus showed above a 75% commonality in protein composition. While “the gene order is strongly conserved in all seven phages…various functional regions are randomly distributed throughout the genome…”. Functional clustering, as observed in other genera of phages, is uniquely absent from ''Kuttervirus'', and proves to be a defining quality of the genus. Due to the diversity in tail-spike filaments, researchers have suggested that these phages may be capable of infecting a wider range of hosts. One such example has already been observed: the species SFP10 has successfully infected of the genus

Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...

and of the species

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

. While all members of the genus possess tail spikes, it is important to note that each species may possess unique spikes, many of which must be further researched to determine their function.

Taxonomy

The genus contains the following species: *'' Escherichia virus CBA120'' *'' Escherichia virus ECML4'' *'' Escherichia virus EP75'' *'' Escherichia virus FEC14'' *'' Escherichia virus PhaxI'' *'' Salmonella virus 38'' *'' Salmonella virus aagejoakim'' *'' Salmonella virus allotria'' *'' Salmonella virus barely'' *''

Salmonella virus bering ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fu ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18395606 Ackermannviridae Virus genera