{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T16:04:54Z","timestamp":1753891494102,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,30]],"date-time":"2025-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1745971200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study comprehensively examined three <jats:italic>Brucella<\/jats:italic> phages (A1, NMY-1, and NMY-2) isolated from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Electron microscopy classified them as short-tailed phages. A1 and NMY-1 lysed smooth strains of <jats:italic>Brucella abortus<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Brucella melitensis<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Brucella suis<\/jats:italic>, while NMY-2 lysed rough strains of <jats:italic>Brucella melitensis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Brucella canis<\/jats:italic>. The optimal multiplicity of infection for A1, NMY-1, and NMY-2 was lower than that of Tb<jats:sub>C<\/jats:sub>. A1 and NMY-2 had short growth cycles, and NMY-1 had a long one. All three phages showed high stability against temperature, pH, and ultraviolet exposure. Their genomes were double-stranded DNA, about 38\u202fkb long with a 48% GC content. For each phage, 53 genes were predicted, with no drug-resistance, virulence, or lysogenic genes identified. SNP and InDel analysis revealed significant differences in genes encoding hypothesized tail-collar proteins. Based on SNP data, the phylogenetic tree indicated that phage Bk<jats:sub>W<\/jats:sub> (GenBank: KC556893) was the closest relative of A1, NMY-1, and NMY-2. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of <jats:italic>Brucella<\/jats:italic> phage diversity, which is crucial for developing phage-based biocontrol strategies. The host-lysis spectra can guide the selection of effective phages for treating <jats:italic>Brucella<\/jats:italic> infections. The absence of harmful genes makes these phages potential safe candidates for phage therapy. Moreover, the genetic and phylogenetic insights support further research on phage evolution and classification.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1550801","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,30]],"date-time":"2025-04-30T05:37:54Z","timestamp":1745991474000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Morphological, lytic, and genetic characteristics of three Brucella phages isolated from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dongri","family":"Piao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qingqing","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hongyan","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kun","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guozhong","family":"Tian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kuo","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hai","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.4161\/bact.1.1.13980","article-title":"Lysis from without","volume":"1","author":"Abedon","year":"2011","journal-title":"Bacteriophage"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1159\/000149240","article-title":"A survey of Brucella phages and morphology of new isolates","volume":"16","author":"Ackermann","year":"1981","journal-title":"Intervirology"},{"key":"ref3","first-page":"271","article-title":"Detection of Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus by DNA amplification","volume":"95","author":"Baily","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. 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