The e14 cryptic prophage belongs to a temperate phage lineage distributed across Escherichia and retains genes with potential anti-phage defence functions
Abstract
The e14 region of Escherichia coli str. K-12 is a cryptic prophage that retains functional excision and integration machinery despite extensive loss of phage reproductive functions. However, its evolutionary relationship to other bacteriophages remains poorly resolved. Here, we identify related prophages across four Escherichia species, alongside related, independently isolated bacteriophages. The putative prophages were 34.7–43.5 kb, more than twice the size of e14 (15.2 kb), and retained much of the genomic architecture required for phage reproduction. Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses support e14 as a highly reduced member of a broader lineage of temperate bacteriophages. The retention of genes with established or putative anti-phage functions further raises the possibility that e14 represents a form of ‘defence flotsam’, potentially protecting its host against subsequent phage infections. More broadly, cryptic prophages may provide reservoirs of anti-phage defence functions long after losing their capacity for phage reproduction.
Related
- Larval thermal tolerances and future dispersal potential of the subtropical-to-temperate sea urchin Tripneustes australiae
- Deviation of bovine milk leukocyte functions against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus after co-stimulation with Weissella paramesenteroides
- Comparing the Index of Biodiversity Potential (IBP) in managed and unmanaged temperate lowland forests
- Connectivity and potential functions of viral communities along the particle size spectrum in the twilight zone
- A prophage-encoded anti-phage defence system that prevents DNA packaging by targeting the terminase complex
BibTeX
@misc{gifford2026cryptic,
title = {{The e14 cryptic prophage belongs to a temperate phage lineage distributed across Escherichia and retains genes with potential anti-phage defence functions}},
author = {Danna R Gifford},
howpublished = {EcoEvoRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.32942/x2w996},
url = {https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15627/},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The e14 cryptic prophage belongs to a temperate phage lineage distributed across Escherichia and retains genes with potential anti-phage defence functions
AU - Danna R Gifford
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
PB - EcoEvoRxiv
DO - 10.32942/x2w996
UR - https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15627/
AB - The e14 region of Escherichia coli str. K-12 is a cryptic prophage that retains functional excision and integration machinery despite extensive loss of phage reproductive functions. However, its evolutionary relationship to other bacteriophages remains poorly resolved. Here, we identify related prophages across four Escherichia species, alongside related, independently isolated bacteriophages. The putative prophages were 34.7–43.5 kb, more than twice the size of e14 (15.2 kb), and retained much of the genomic architecture required for phage reproduction. Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses support e14 as a highly reduced member of a broader lineage of temperate bacteriophages. The retention of genes with established or putative anti-phage functions further raises the possibility that e14 represents a form of ‘defence flotsam’, potentially protecting its host against subsequent phage infections. More broadly, cryptic prophages may provide reservoirs of anti-phage defence functions long after losing their capacity for phage reproduction.
ER -