1
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Villa N, Tartari E, Glicenstein S, de Villiers de la Noue H, Picard E, Marcoux PR, Zelsmann M, Resch G, Hadji E, Houdré R. Optical Trapping and Fast Discrimination of Label-Free Bacteriophages at the Single Virion Level. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2308814. [PMID: 38282203 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202308814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
There is a recent resurgence of interest in phage therapy (the therapeutic use of bacterial viruses) as an approach to eliminating difficult-to-treat infections. However, existing approaches for therapeutic phage selection and virulence testing are time-consuming, host-dependent, and facing reproducibility issues. Here, this study presents an innovative approach wherein integrated resonant photonic crystal (PhC) cavities in silicon are used as optical nanotweezers for probing and manipulating single bacteria and single virions with low optical power. This study demonstrates that these nanocavities differentiate between a bacterium and a phage without labeling or specific surface bioreceptors. Furthermore, by tailoring the spatial extent of the resonant optical mode in the low-index medium, phage distinction across phenotypically distinct phage families is demonstrated. The work paves the road to the implementation of optical nanotweezers in phage therapy protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Villa
- Institut de Physique, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Enrico Tartari
- Institut de Physique, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Simon Glicenstein
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, Grenoble INP, IRIG, PHELIQS, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | - Hugues de Villiers de la Noue
- Laboratory of Bacteriophages and Phage Therapy, Center for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences (CRISP), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, 1011, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuel Picard
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, Grenoble INP, IRIG, PHELIQS, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | - Pierre R Marcoux
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, LETI, DTIS, L4IV, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | - Marc Zelsmann
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA/LETI Minatec, LTM, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | - Grégory Resch
- Laboratory of Bacteriophages and Phage Therapy, Center for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences (CRISP), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, 1011, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuel Hadji
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, Grenoble INP, IRIG, PHELIQS, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | - Romuald Houdré
- Institut de Physique, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
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2
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PCR Assay for Rapid Taxonomic Differentiation of Virulent Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae Bacteriophages. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054483. [PMID: 36901913 PMCID: PMC10003202 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Phage therapy is now seen as a promising way to overcome the current global crisis in the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, phages are highly strain-specific, and in most cases one will have to isolate a new phage or search for a phage suitable for a therapeutic application in existing libraries. At an early stage of the isolation process, rapid screening techniques are needed to identify and type potential virulent phages. Here, we propose a simple PCR approach to differentiate between two families of virulent Staphylococcus phages (Herelleviridae and Rountreeviridae) and eleven genera of virulent Klebsiella phages (Przondovirus, Taipeivirus, Drulisvirus, Webervirus, Jiaodavirus, Sugarlandvirus, Slopekvirus, Jedunavirus, Marfavirus, Mydovirus and Yonseivirus). This assay includes a thorough search of a dataset comprising S. aureus (n = 269) and K. pneumoniae (n = 480) phage genomes available in the NCBI RefSeq/GenBank database for specific genes that are highly conserved at the taxonomic group level. The selected primers showed high sensitivity and specificity for both isolated DNA and crude phage lysates, which permits circumventing DNA purification protocols. Our approach can be extended and applied to any group of phages, given the large number of available genomes in the databases.
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3
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Abril AG, Carrera M, Notario V, Sánchez-Pérez Á, Villa TG. The Use of Bacteriophages in Biotechnology and Recent Insights into Proteomics. Antibiotics (Basel) 2022; 11:653. [PMID: 35625297 PMCID: PMC9137636 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11050653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Phages have certain features, such as their ability to form protein-protein interactions, that make them good candidates for use in a variety of beneficial applications, such as in human or animal health, industry, food science, food safety, and agriculture. It is essential to identify and characterize the proteins produced by particular phages in order to use these viruses in a variety of functional processes, such as bacterial detection, as vehicles for drug delivery, in vaccine development, and to combat multidrug resistant bacterial infections. Furthermore, phages can also play a major role in the design of a variety of cheap and stable sensors as well as in diagnostic assays that can either specifically identify specific compounds or detect bacteria. This article reviews recently developed phage-based techniques, such as the use of recombinant tempered phages, phage display and phage amplification-based detection. It also encompasses the application of phages as capture elements, biosensors and bioreceptors, with a special emphasis on novel bacteriophage-based mass spectrometry (MS) applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana G. Abril
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15898 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
- Department of Food Technology, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Marine Research Institute (IIM), 36208 Vigo, Spain;
| | - Mónica Carrera
- Department of Food Technology, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Marine Research Institute (IIM), 36208 Vigo, Spain;
| | - Vicente Notario
- Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA;
| | - Ángeles Sánchez-Pérez
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia;
| | - Tomás G. Villa
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15898 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
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4
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Do T, Guran R, Adam V, Zitka O. Use of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for virus identification: a review. Analyst 2022; 147:3131-3154. [DOI: 10.1039/d2an00431c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The possibilities of virus identification, including SARS-CoV-2, by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry are discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Do
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, CZ-613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Guran
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, CZ-613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 656/123, CZ-612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtech Adam
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, CZ-613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 656/123, CZ-612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ondrej Zitka
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, CZ-613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 656/123, CZ-612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
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5
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Buszewski B, Maślak E, Złoch M, Railean-Plugaru V, Kłodzińska E, Pomastowski P. A new approach to identifying pathogens, with particular regard to viruses, based on capillary electrophoresis and other analytical techniques. Trends Analyt Chem 2021; 139:116250. [PMID: 34776563 PMCID: PMC8573725 DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2021.116250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Fast determination, identification and characterization of pathogens is a significant challenge in many fields, from industry to medicine. Standard approaches (e.g., culture media and biochemical tests) are known to be very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Conversely, screening techniques demand a quick and low-cost grouping of microbial isolates, and current analysis call for broad reports of pathogens, involving the application of molecular, microscopy, and electromigration techniques, DNA fingerprinting and also MALDI-TOF methods. The present COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that affects rich and poor countries alike. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in patient samples is a critical tool for monitoring disease spread, guiding therapeutic decisions and devising social distancing protocols. The goal of this review is to present an innovative methodology based on preparative separation of pathogens by electromigration techniques in combination with simultaneous analysis of the proteome, lipidome, and genome using laser desorption/ionization analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bogusław Buszewski
- Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 87-100, Torun, Poland.,Department of Environmental Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 87-100, Torun, Poland
| | - Ewelina Maślak
- Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 87-100, Torun, Poland.,Department of Environmental Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 87-100, Torun, Poland
| | - Michał Złoch
- Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 87-100, Torun, Poland
| | - Viorica Railean-Plugaru
- Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 87-100, Torun, Poland
| | - Ewa Kłodzińska
- Institute of Sport - National Research Institute, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Instrumental Analysis, 01-982, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Paweł Pomastowski
- Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 87-100, Torun, Poland
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6
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Guo Y, Lin J, Wang X. Rapid detection of temperate bacteriophage using a simple motility assay. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS 2021; 13:728-734. [PMID: 34245219 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Phage contamination is a common complication for the fermentation and pharmaceutical industries. The risk of bacteriophage contamination in laboratory processes increases with multiple rounds of genetic manipulation such as deletion and complementation. The contamination of temperate phages does not lead to immediate host cell lysis but could become a serious issue when the lytic cycle is activated under specific conditions. Our objective was to develop a quick and reliable detection method for checking possible temperate phage contamination. Here, using motility plates, we found that when the strain carries a newly acquired temperate phage, its presence can be easily detected by the formation of a clear 'lysis zone' when swimming against the original strain on the same swimming plates. Compared to the traditional double agar layer method and genomic sequencing-based methods, the duration of the motility-based assay is shorter and the procedure is simplified. More importantly, for the bacterial strains that already contain active prophages, this method can still easily detect the newly acquired phages without tedious phage identification procedure. These features make this method highly applicable to laboratory and industrial processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunxue Guo
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1119, Haibin Road, Nansha District, Guangzhou, 511458, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), No.1119, Haibin Road, Nansha District, Guangzhou, 511458, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jianzhong Lin
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1119, Haibin Road, Nansha District, Guangzhou, 511458, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiaoxue Wang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1119, Haibin Road, Nansha District, Guangzhou, 511458, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), No.1119, Haibin Road, Nansha District, Guangzhou, 511458, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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7
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Abstract
Bacteriophages represent the main microbiological threat for the manufacture of fermented foods. The dairy industry is the most affected by this problem, as phages are naturally present in raw milk, surfaces, vats, tanks, floors, and distributed by air displacements. Cheese whey may also contain high phage concentrations. Prophages harbored by lysogenic strains could be induced, generating new lytic phages. In this context, where phages cannot be eradicated from dairies, methods of phage monitoring are mandatory. These are mainly based in microbiological features, like classical methods, that are the most used, economic and simple to carry out. Phage DNA detection and quantification by PCR and qPCR, more complex and expensive, are faster, although not able to discern between viable and non-viable virions. Electron microscopy allows direct visualization and characterization of phage morphology, but the apparatus is expensive. Alternative methods based in other phage traits also exist, though less studied and not applicable on a daily basis. Recognition of contamination sources and correct phage monitoring in dairy factories allow a correct application of control measures. These include general measures such as proper factory design, efficient programs of sanitization, good treatment of raw materials, especially milk, and careful handling of by-products. Additionally, the use of starts cultures should be adequate, with application of rotation schemes when possible. Finally, the selection of bacteriophage insensitive mutants (BIM) is essential, and can be achieved simply and empirically, though the study of CRISPR-Cas and other newly discovered mechanisms provide a more rational basis to obtain BIMs with optimized features.
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8
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Component Parts of Bacteriophage Virions Accurately Defined by a Machine-Learning Approach Built on Evolutionary Features. mSystems 2021; 6:e0024221. [PMID: 34042467 PMCID: PMC8269216 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00242-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to evolve as a major threat to human health, and new strategies are required for the treatment of AMR infections. Bacteriophages (phages) that kill bacterial pathogens are being identified for use in phage therapies, with the intention to apply these bactericidal viruses directly into the infection sites in bespoke phage cocktails. Despite the great unsampled phage diversity for this purpose, an issue hampering the roll out of phage therapy is the poor quality annotation of many of the phage genomes, particularly for those from infrequently sampled environmental sources. We developed a computational tool called STEP3 to use the “evolutionary features” that can be recognized in genome sequences of diverse phages. These features, when integrated into an ensemble framework, achieved a stable and robust prediction performance when benchmarked against other prediction tools using phages from diverse sources. Validation of the prediction accuracy of STEP3 was conducted with high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis of two novel phages, isolated from a watercourse in the Southern Hemisphere. STEP3 provides a robust computational approach to distinguish specific and universal features in phages to improve the quality of phage cocktails and is available for use at http://step3.erc.monash.edu/. IMPORTANCE In response to the global problem of antimicrobial resistance, there are moves to use bacteriophages (phages) as therapeutic agents. Selecting which phages will be effective therapeutics relies on interpreting features contributing to shelf-life and applicability to diagnosed infections. However, the protein components of the phage virions that dictate these properties vary so much in sequence that best estimates suggest failure to recognize up to 90% of them. We have utilized this diversity in evolutionary features as an advantage, to apply machine learning for prediction accuracy for diverse components in phage virions. We benchmark this new tool showing the accurate recognition and evaluation of phage component parts using genome sequence data of phages from undersampled environments, where the richest diversity of phage still lies.
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9
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Staphylococcus epidermidis Phages Transduce Antimicrobial Resistance Plasmids and Mobilize Chromosomal Islands. mSphere 2021; 6:6/3/e00223-21. [PMID: 33980677 PMCID: PMC8125051 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00223-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Multidrug-resistant strains of S. epidermidis emerge in both nosocomial and livestock environments as the most important pathogens among coagulase-negative staphylococcal species. The study of transduction by phages is essential to understanding how virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes spread in originally commensal bacterial populations. Staphylococcus epidermidis is a leading opportunistic pathogen causing nosocomial infections that is notable for its ability to form a biofilm and for its high rates of antibiotic resistance. It serves as a reservoir of multiple antimicrobial resistance genes that spread among the staphylococcal population by horizontal gene transfer such as transduction. While phage-mediated transduction is well studied in Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis transducing phages have not been described in detail yet. Here, we report the characteristics of four phages, 27, 48, 456, and 459, previously used for S. epidermidis phage typing, and the newly isolated phage E72, from a clinical S. epidermidis strain. The phages, classified in the family Siphoviridae and genus Phietavirus, exhibited an S. epidermidis-specific host range, and together they infected 49% of the 35 strains tested. A whole-genome comparison revealed evolutionary relatedness to transducing S. aureus phietaviruses. In accordance with this, all the tested phages were capable of transduction with high frequencies up to 10−4 among S. epidermidis strains from different clonal complexes. Plasmids with sizes from 4 to 19 kb encoding resistance to streptomycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol were transferred. We provide here the first evidence of a phage-inducible chromosomal island transfer in S. epidermidis. Similarly to S. aureus pathogenicity islands, the transfer was accompanied by phage capsid remodeling; however, the interfering protein encoded by the island was distinct. Our findings underline the role of S. epidermidis temperate phages in the evolution of S. epidermidis strains by horizontal gene transfer, which can also be utilized for S. epidermidis genetic studies. IMPORTANCE Multidrug-resistant strains of S. epidermidis emerge in both nosocomial and livestock environments as the most important pathogens among coagulase-negative staphylococcal species. The study of transduction by phages is essential to understanding how virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes spread in originally commensal bacterial populations. In this work, we provide a detailed description of transducing S. epidermidis phages. The high transduction frequencies of antimicrobial resistance plasmids and the first evidence of chromosomal island transfer emphasize the decisive role of S. epidermidis phages in attaining a higher pathogenic potential of host strains. To date, such importance has been attributed only to S. aureus phages, not to those of coagulase-negative staphylococci. This study also proved that the described transducing bacteriophages represent valuable genetic modification tools in S. epidermidis strains where other methods for gene transfer fail.
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10
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Horká M, Šalplachta J, Karásek P, Růžička F, Štveráková D, Pantůček R, Roth M. Rapid Isolation, Propagation, and Online Analysis of a Small Number of Therapeutic Staphylococcal Bacteriophages from a Complex Matrix. ACS Infect Dis 2020; 6:2745-2755. [PMID: 32856900 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
A method for the fast isolation, propagation, and characterization of very low count bacteriophages active against pathogenic bacterial strains is described in this study. Bacteriophages with a count of 102 phage particles were dynamically adhered from the maximum 10 mL blood plasma sample onto the nanostructured part of the fused silica capillary. One-step propagation of phage particles of genus Kayvirus inside the etched capillary on 104 Staphylococcus aureus host cells increased their number to 6 × 104 phage particles. Phage particles were concentrated online and separated by capillary electrophoretic methods. No phage replication occurred when the phage-resistant S. aureus or Escherichia coli cells were used. Two-step phage propagation in the capillary allowed an increase in the total virion count to up to 6 × 105 phage particles and subsequent off-line matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis of the phage zone collected after capillary electrophoresis. Relative standard deviations of the phage peak area were at most 2.3%. We expect that the method of isolating bacteriophages from blood plasma and their simultaneous identification will facilitate clinical studies of phage preparations and contribute to pharmacokinetics studies during phage therapy. This approach is also suitable for capturing and enriching new phages from the environment when a susceptible indicator strain is available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Horká
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS, Veveří 97, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šalplachta
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS, Veveří 97, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Karásek
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS, Veveří 97, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Filip Růžička
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Dana Štveráková
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Pantůček
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Roth
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS, Veveří 97, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
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11
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Bárdy P, Füzik T, Hrebík D, Pantůček R, Thomas Beatty J, Plevka P. Structure and mechanism of DNA delivery of a gene transfer agent. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3034. [PMID: 32541663 PMCID: PMC7296036 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16669-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Alphaproteobacteria, which are the most abundant microorganisms of temperate oceans, produce phage-like particles called gene transfer agents (GTAs) that mediate lateral gene exchange. However, the mechanism by which GTAs deliver DNA into cells is unknown. Here we present the structure of the GTA of Rhodobacter capsulatus (RcGTA) and describe the conformational changes required for its DNA ejection. The structure of RcGTA resembles that of a tailed phage, but it has an oblate head shortened in the direction of the tail axis, which limits its packaging capacity to less than 4,500 base pairs of linear double-stranded DNA. The tail channel of RcGTA contains a trimer of proteins that possess features of both tape measure proteins of long-tailed phages from the family Siphoviridae and tail needle proteins of short-tailed phages from the family Podoviridae. The opening of a constriction within the RcGTA baseplate enables the ejection of DNA into bacterial periplasm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavol Bárdy
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tibor Füzik
- Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Dominik Hrebík
- Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Pantůček
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - J Thomas Beatty
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Pavel Plevka
- Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
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12
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Rajnovic D, Mas J. Fluorometric detection of phages in liquid media: Application to turbid samples. Anal Chim Acta 2020; 1111:23-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2020.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Revised: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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13
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Horká M, Karásek P, Šalplachta J, Růžička F, Štveráková D, Pantůček R, Roth M. Nano-etched fused-silica capillary used for on-line preconcentration and electrophoretic separation of bacteriophages from large blood sample volumes with off-line MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry identification. Mikrochim Acta 2020; 187:177. [PMID: 32076849 DOI: 10.1007/s00604-020-4154-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The properties of staphylococcal phages from the Siphoviridae, Podoviridae, and Myoviridae families were monitored using capillary electrophoretic methods on fused-silica capillaries with different morphology of surface roughness. Isoelectric points of the examined phages were determined by capillary isoelectric focusing in the original, smooth fused-silica capillary, and they ranged from 3.30 to 3.85. For capillary electrophoresis of phages, fused-silica capillaries with the "pock" and "cone" roughened surface types were prepared by etching a part of the capillary with supercritical water. The best resolution of the individual phages (to range from 3.2 to 4.6) was achieved with the "cone" surface-type fused-silica capillary. Direct application of phage K1/420 at the infection site, represented by human plasma or full blood spiked with Staphylococcus aureus, was on-line monitored by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. The phage particles were dynamically adhered onto the roughened surface of the capillary from 10 μL of the prepared sample at the optimized flow rate of 6.5 μL min-1. The limit of detection was determined to be 104 phage particles. The linearity of the calibration lines was characterized by the regression coefficient, R2 = 0.998. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the peak area, calculated from ten independent measurements, was (±) 2%. After analysis, viability of the detected phages was verified by the modified "double-layer drop assay" method, and collected phage fractions were simultaneously off-line analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Horká
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS, Veveří 97, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Pavel Karásek
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS, Veveří 97, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šalplachta
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS, Veveří 97, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Filip Růžička
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Dana Štveráková
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Pantůček
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Roth
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS, Veveří 97, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic
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Brüssow H. Hurdles for Phage Therapy to Become a Reality-An Editorial Comment. Viruses 2019; 11:v11060557. [PMID: 31212885 PMCID: PMC6631134 DOI: 10.3390/v11060557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Harald Brüssow
- KU Leuven, Group of Gene Technology, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
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15
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Rajnovic D, Muñoz-Berbel X, Mas J. Fast phage detection and quantification: An optical density-based approach. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216292. [PMID: 31071103 PMCID: PMC6508699 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Since 1959 with the proposal of Double Agar Layer (DAL) method for phage detection and quantification, many sophisticated methods have emerged meanwhile. However, many of them are either too complex/expensive or insensitive to replace routine utilization of DAL method in clinical, environmental and industrial environments. For that purpose, we have explored an alternative method for the detection and quantification of bacteriophages that fulfills the criteria of being rapid, simple and inexpensive. In this paper we have developed a method based on the analysis of optical density kinetics in bacterial cultures exposed to phage-containing samples. Although the decrease in optical density caused by cell lysis was one of the first observable consequences of the effect of viral infection in bacterial cultures, the potential of the method for the assessment of phage abundance has never been fully exploited. In this work we carry out a detailed study of optical density kinetics in phage-infected bacterial cultures, as a function of both, phage abundance and initial concentration of the host organisms. In total, 90 different combinations of bacteria/phage concentrations have been used. The data obtained provide valuable information about sensitivity ranges, duration of the assay, percentages of inhibition and type of lysing behavior for each phage concentration. The method described can detect, as few as 10 phage particles per assay volume after a phage incubation period of 3.5h. The duration of the assay can be shortened to 45min at the expense of losing sensitivity and increasing the limit of detection to 108 pfu/ml. Despite using non-sophisticated technology, the method described has shown sensitivity and response time comparable to other high-end methods. The simplicity of the technology and of the analytical steps involved, make the system susceptible of miniaturization and automation for high-throughput applications which can be implemented in routine analysis in many environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Rajnovic
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici C. Campus de Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail: (DR); (JM)
| | - Xavier Muñoz-Berbel
- Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona (IMB-CNM, CSIC), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Mas
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici C. Campus de Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail: (DR); (JM)
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16
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Botka T, Pantůček R, Mašlaňová I, Benešík M, Petráš P, Růžičková V, Havlíčková P, Varga M, Žemličková H, Koláčková I, Florianová M, Jakubů V, Karpíšková R, Doškař J. Lytic and genomic properties of spontaneous host-range Kayvirus mutants prove their suitability for upgrading phage therapeutics against staphylococci. Sci Rep 2019; 9:5475. [PMID: 30940900 PMCID: PMC6445280 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-41868-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Lytic bacteriophages are valuable therapeutic agents against bacterial infections. There is continual effort to obtain new phages to increase the effectivity of phage preparations against emerging phage-resistant strains. Here we described the genomic diversity of spontaneous host-range mutants of kayvirus 812. Five mutant phages were isolated as rare plaques on phage-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. The host range of phage 812-derived mutants was 42% higher than the wild type, determined on a set of 186 methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains representing the globally circulating human and livestock-associated clones. Comparative genomics revealed that single-nucleotide polymorphisms from the parental phage 812 population were fixed in next-step mutants, mostly in genes for tail and baseplate components, and the acquired point mutations led to diverse receptor binding proteins in the phage mutants. Numerous genome changes associated with rearrangements between direct repeat motifs or intron loss were found. Alterations occurred in host-takeover and terminal genomic regions or the endolysin gene of mutants that exhibited the highest lytic activity, which implied various mechanisms of overcoming bacterial resistance. The genomic data revealed that Kayvirus spontaneous mutants are free from undesirable genes and their lytic properties proved their suitability for rapidly updating phage therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tibor Botka
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Pantůček
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic.
| | - Ivana Mašlaňová
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Benešík
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Petráš
- National Institute of Public Health, Praha, 100 42, Czech Republic
| | - Vladislava Růžičková
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
| | - Pavla Havlíčková
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
| | - Marian Varga
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
| | - Helena Žemličková
- National Institute of Public Health, Praha, 100 42, Czech Republic.,Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Hradec Králové, 500 05, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Vladislav Jakubů
- National Institute of Public Health, Praha, 100 42, Czech Republic
| | | | - Jiří Doškař
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
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17
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Głowacka-Rutkowska A, Gozdek A, Empel J, Gawor J, Żuchniewicz K, Kozińska A, Dębski J, Gromadka R, Łobocka M. The Ability of Lytic Staphylococcal Podovirus vB_SauP_phiAGO1.3 to Coexist in Equilibrium With Its Host Facilitates the Selection of Host Mutants of Attenuated Virulence but Does Not Preclude the Phage Antistaphylococcal Activity in a Nematode Infection Model. Front Microbiol 2019; 9:3227. [PMID: 30713528 PMCID: PMC6346686 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.03227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Phage vB_SauP_phiAGO1.3 (phiAGO1.3) is a polyvalent Staphylococcus lytic podovirus with a 17.6-kb genome (Gozdek et al., 2018). It can infect most of the Staphylococcus aureus human isolates of dominant clonal complexes. We show that a major factor contributing to the wide host range of phiAGO1.3 is a lack or sparcity of target sites for certain restriction-modification systems of types I and II in its genome. Phage phiAGO1.3 requires for adsorption β-O-GlcNAcylated cell wall teichoic acid, which is also essential for the expression of methicillin resistance. Under certain conditions an exposure of S. aureus to phiAGO1.3 can lead to the establishment of a mixed population in which the bacteria and phages remain in equilibrium over multiple generations. This is reminiscent of the so called phage carrier state enabling the co-existence of phage-resistant and phage-sensitive cells supporting a continuous growth of the bacterial and phage populations. The stable co-existence of bacteria and phage favors the emergence of phage-resistant variants of the bacterium. All phiAGO1.3-resistant cells isolated from the phage-carrier-state cultures contained a mutation inactivating the two-component regulatory system ArlRS, essential for efficient expression of numerous S. aureus virulence-associated traits. Moreover, the mutants were unaffected in their susceptibility to infection with an unrelated, polyvalent S. aureus phage of the genus Kayvirus. The ability of phiAGO1.3 to establish phage-carrier-state cultures did not preclude its antistaphylococcal activity in vivo in an S. aureus nematode infection model. Taken together our results suggest that phiAGO1.3 could be suitable for the therapeutic application in humans and animals, alone or in cocktails with Kayvirus phages. It might be especially useful in the treatment of infections with the majority of methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Głowacka-Rutkowska
- Department of Microbial Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Gozdek
- Department of Microbial Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Joanna Empel
- Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Microbiology, National Medicines Institute, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jan Gawor
- Laboratory of DNA Sequencing and Oligonucleotide Synthesis, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Karolina Żuchniewicz
- Laboratory of DNA Sequencing and Oligonucleotide Synthesis, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Kozińska
- Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Microbiology, National Medicines Institute, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Janusz Dębski
- Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Robert Gromadka
- Laboratory of DNA Sequencing and Oligonucleotide Synthesis, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Łobocka
- Department of Microbial Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Autonomous Department of Microbial Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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18
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Marie H, Dana Š, Jiří Š, Karel Š, Marta Š, Filip R, Roman P. Electrophoretic techniques for purification, separation and detection of Kayvirus with subsequent control by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and microbiological methods. J Chromatogr A 2018; 1570:155-163. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2018.07.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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