Complete genome sequence of MMP7, a novel Meiothermus bacteriophage of the family Myoviridae isolated from a hot spring.

The genome sequence of a novel Meiothermus bacteriophage, named MMP7, which was isolated from Tengchong hot spring in Yunnan Province of China and belongs to the family Myoviridae, was sequenced in this study. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported genome sequence of a Meiothermus phage, which has a circular DNA genome of 32,864 bp and a GC content of 64%. The MMP7 genome contains 53 putative protein-encoding genes but no rRNA or tRNA genes, and it exhibits low overall sequence similarity and no significant homology to phage genomes whose sequences are publicly available, suggesting that MMP7 is a novel phage. Consistent with current taxonomic results, whole-genome-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that Meiothermus phage MMP7 has close evolutionary relationship to Thermus phages. Together, our results could be helpful for discovering new thermostable antimicrobial agents and understanding the evolution and genetic diversity of Meiothermus phages in extreme environments.