Characterization and Bioinformatic Analysis of Related Vibriophages with ~42,000 bp Genomes from Chesapeake Bay

Vibriophage are viruses that infect the marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi. A new cluster of vibriophages, Cluster B, were isolated from Chesapeake Bay oysters. These vibriophage are characterized by their shorter genome of ~42,000 bp, in comparison to the previously characterized Cluster A, which have genome lengths of ~126,000 bp. The genomes of these vibriophage were sequences and compared, and the lytic and lysogenic properties were analyzed.