Expansion of -like Phage Sequences within the Past Decade, including Phage YF01 from Japan, Prompt the Creation of Three New Genera.

Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are currently receiving significant attention amid an ever-growing global antibiotic resistance crisis. In tandem, a surge in the availability and affordability of next-generation and third-generation sequencing technologies has driven the deposition of a wealth of phage sequence data. Here, we have isolated a novel phage, YF01, from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Yokohama, Japan. We demonstrate that the YF01 phage shares a high similarity to a collection of thirty-five and phages found in public databases, six of which have been previously classified into the genus by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Using modern phylogenetic approaches, we demonstrate that an expansion and reshaping of the current six-membered genus is required to accommodate all thirty-six member phages. Ultimately, we propose the creation of three additional genera, , , and , which will allow a more organized approach to the addition of future -like phages.