Isolation and Analysis of the Novel Mycobacteriophage, CCP1

Abstract

Bacteriophages are the largest remaining body of undescribed biodiversity on the planet. The present study attempted to isolate and analyze the structure and genetics of a novel mycobacteriophage extracted from a soil sample. It was hypothesized that undescribed phages exist in the study area. A phage, named CCP1, was isolated from soil obtained in Helena, Montana, U.S.A. via serial plating of phage material taken from plaques formed in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Genetic and morphological analyses by restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) respectively, suggest that CCP1 is a novel mycobacteriophage.