{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T06:10:23Z","timestamp":1783923023923,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783900800000},"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:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Tuberculosis (TB), caused by\n                      <jats:italic>Mycobacterium tuberculosis<\/jats:italic>\n                      , remains a major global health challenge, particularly due to the increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant strains and limited treatment options. Bacteriophages have gained attention as potential alternatives or adjuncts to conventional antibiotics owing to their host specificity and antibacterial efficacy.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This study reports the isolation and detailed characterization of mycobacteriophage Kashi_RDG1 (KRDG1), isolated using\n                      <jats:italic>Mycobacterium smegmatis<\/jats:italic>\n                      mc\n                      <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                      155. Genomic analysis, transmission electron microscopy, host range analysis, one-step growth assay, adsorption assay, multiplicity of infection (MOI) determination, and infection kinetics were performed to characterize the phage.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Genomic analysis identified KRDG1 as sub cluster K1 mycobacteriophage, with a genome size of 58,681 bp containing 95 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), of which 39 are functionally annotated. Transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed its siphovirus-like morphology while host range analysis depicted its polyvalent activity against\n                      <jats:italic>Mycobacterium fortuitum<\/jats:italic>\n                      (opportunistic pathogen) and\n                      <jats:italic>M. tuberculosis<\/jats:italic>\n                      H37Ra (an attenuated\n                      <jats:italic>Mtb<\/jats:italic>\n                      strain) in addition to\n                      <jats:italic>M. smegmatis<\/jats:italic>\n                      . One-step growth analysis revealed latent period of 80 min and burst size of 100 phage\/bacterial cell supporting its efficient infection dynamics. Notably, infection kinetics demonstrated strong host bacterial killing during the logarithmic phase.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>While KRDG1 exhibits temperate characteristics, its close genomic similarity to previously engineered therapeutic phage (ZoeJ) highlights its potential for future genetic engineering and therapeutic exploration against pathogenic mycobacterial and non-mycobacterial infections.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1859270","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T05:33:52Z","timestamp":1783920832000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Genomic profile and infection dynamics of Kashi_RDG1 (KRDG1), a novel cluster K1 mycobacteriophage infecting mycobacterial hosts"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Anuja","family":"Kakkar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University","place":["Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Garima","family":"Kandwal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University","place":["Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tanmayee","family":"Nayak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University","place":["Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lav Kumar","family":"Jaiswal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University","place":["Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ankush","family":"Gupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University","place":["Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1220348","DOI":"10.1080\/21597081.2016.1220348","article-title":"Phage therapy dosing: the problem (s) with multiplicity of infection (MOI)","volume":"6","author":"Abedon","year":"2016","journal-title":"Bacteriophage"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7499","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.69.12.7499-7506.2003","article-title":"Experimental examination of bacteriophage latent-period evolution as a response to bacterial availability","volume":"69","author":"Abedon","year":"2003","journal-title":"Appl. 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