Novel, closely related phages Possum and Horatius infect , a phytopathogen causing soft rot in potatoes and other essential plants. Their properties and genomic composition define them as N4-like bacteriophages of the genus , a part of a recently formed family . It is proposed that the adsorption apparatus of these phages consists of tail fibers connected to the virion through an adapter protein. Tail fibers possess an enzymatic domain. Phage Possum uses it to deacetylate O-polysaccharide on the surface of the host strain to provide viral attachment. Such an infection mechanism is supposed to be common for all phages and this feature should be considered when designing cocktails for phage control of soft rot.