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Kolenda C, Jourdan J, Roussel-Gaillard T, Medina M, Laurent F. Phage susceptibility testing methods or 'phagograms': where do we stand and where should we go? J Antimicrob Chemother 2024:dkae325. [PMID: 39271114 DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkae325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Phage therapy is a highly promising approach to address the challenge that is presented by the global burden of antimicrobial resistance. Given the natural specificity of phages, phage susceptibility testing (PST) is a prerequisite for successful personalized therapy, allowing the selection of active phages from large and diverse collections. However, the issue of an easy-to-use and standardized technique remains. In this review, we describe the principles, advantages and drawbacks of two routinely used PST techniques: plaque and growth kinetic assays. These are labour-intensive and time-consuming methods that require automation of one or more steps, including preparation of test panels, incubation, reading and analysis of results. In addition to automation, there is an urgent need to establish a reference method to enable efficient of PST techniques selection of therapeutic phages. We discuss knowledge gaps and parameters that need to be investigated to work towards this goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Kolenda
- Service de bactériologie, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Team StaPath, CIRI-Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Université de Lyon, Inserm, U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Julie Jourdan
- Service de bactériologie, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | | | - Mathieu Medina
- Service de bactériologie, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Team StaPath, CIRI-Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Université de Lyon, Inserm, U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Frédéric Laurent
- Service de bactériologie, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Team StaPath, CIRI-Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Université de Lyon, Inserm, U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
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2
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Kolenda C, Bonhomme M, Medina M, Pouilly M, Rousseau C, Troesch E, Martins-Simoes P, Stegger M, Verhoeven PO, Laumay F, Laurent F. Potential of training of anti- Staphylococcus aureus therapeutic phages against Staphylococcus epidermidis multidrug-resistant isolates is restricted by inter- and intra-sequence type specificity. mSystems 2024:e0085024. [PMID: 39248470 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00850-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 09/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Phage therapy appears to be a promising approach to tackle multidrug-resistant bacteria, including staphylococci. However, most anti-staphylococcal phages have been characterized in Staphylococcus aureus, while a limited number of studies investigated phage activity against S. epidermidis. We studied the potential of phage training to extend the host range of two types of anti-S. aureus phages against S. epidermidis isolates. The Appelmans protocol was applied to a mixture of Kayvirus and a mixture of Silviavirus phages repeatedly exposed to seven S. epidermidis strains representative of nosocomial-associated sequence types (ST), including the world-wide disseminated ST2. We observed increased activity only for the Kayvirus mixture against two of these strains (ST2 or ST35). Phage subpopulations isolated from the training mixture using these two strains (five/strain) exhibited different evolved phenotypes, active only against their isolation strain or strains of the same ST. Of note, 16/47 ST2 strains were susceptible to one of the groups of trained phages. A comparative genomic analysis of ancestral and trained phage genomes, conducted to identify potential bacterial determinants of such specific activity, found numerous recombination events between two of the three ancestors. However, a small number of trained phage genes had nucleotide sequence modifications impacting the corresponding protein compared to ancestral phages, two to four of them per phage genome being specific of each group of phage subpopulations exhibiting different host range. The results suggest that anti-S. aureus phages can be adapted to S. epidermidis isolates but with inter- and intra-ST specificity.ImportanceS. epidermidis is increasingly recognized as a threat for public health. Its clinical importance is notably related to multidrug resistance. Phage therapy is one of the most promising alternative therapeutic strategies to antibiotics. Nonetheless, only very few phages active against this bacterial species have been described. In the present study, we showed that phage training can be used to extend the host range of polyvalent Kayvirus phages within the Staphylococcus genera to include S. epidermidis species. In the context of rapid development of phage therapy, in vitro forced adaptation of previously characterized phages could be an appealing alternative to fastidious repeated isolation of new phages to improve the therapeutic potential of a phage collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Kolenda
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Equipe StaPath, CIRI, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Inserm U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Mélanie Bonhomme
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Equipe StaPath, CIRI, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Inserm U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Mathieu Medina
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Equipe StaPath, CIRI, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Inserm U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Mateo Pouilly
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Clara Rousseau
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Emma Troesch
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Patricia Martins-Simoes
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Equipe StaPath, CIRI, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Inserm U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Marc Stegger
- Bacteria, Parasites and Fungi, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Antimicrobial Resistance and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
| | - Paul O Verhoeven
- GIMAP Team, CIRI, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Inserm U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Faculty of Medicine, Université Jean Monnet St-Etienne, St-Etienne, France
- Department of Infectious Agents and Hygiene, University Hospital of St-Etienne, St-Etienne, France
| | - Floriane Laumay
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Equipe StaPath, CIRI, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Inserm U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Frédéric Laurent
- Service de bactériologie, Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, Institut des Agents Infectieux, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Equipe StaPath, CIRI, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Inserm U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
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3
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Natarajan SP, Teh SH, Lin LC, Lin NT. In Vitro and In Vivo Assessments of Newly Isolated N4-like Bacteriophage against ST45 K62 Capsular-Type Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae: vB_kpnP_KPYAP-1. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:9595. [PMID: 39273543 PMCID: PMC11395603 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25179595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2024] [Revised: 08/26/2024] [Accepted: 08/31/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
The rise of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) presents a significant global challenge in clinical and healthcare settings, severely limiting treatment options. This study aimed to utilize a bacteriophage as an alternative therapy against carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae. A novel lytic N4-like Klebsiella phage, vB_kpnP_KPYAP-1 (KPYAP-1), was isolated from sewage. It demonstrated efficacy against the K62 serotype polysaccharide capsule of blaOXA-48-producing K. pneumoniae. KPYAP-1 forms small, clear plaques, has a latent period of 20 min, and reaches a growth plateau at 35 min, with a burst size of 473 plaque-forming units (PFUs) per infected cell. Phylogenetic analysis places KPYAP-1 in the Schitoviridae family, Enquatrovirinae subfamily, and Kaypoctavirus genus. KPYAP-1 employs an N4-like direct terminal repeat mechanism for genome packaging and encodes a large virion-encapsulated RNA polymerase. It lacks integrase or repressor genes, antibiotic resistance genes, bacterial virulence factors, and toxins, ensuring its safety for therapeutic use. Comparative genome analysis revealed that the KPYAP-1 genome is most similar to the KP8 genome, yet differs in tail fiber protein, indicating variations in host recognition. In a zebrafish infection model, KPYAP-1 significantly improved the survival rate of infected fish by 92% at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 10, demonstrating its potential for in vivo treatment. These results highlight KPYAP-1 as a promising candidate for developing phage-based therapies targeting carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanmuga Priya Natarajan
- Master Program in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97004, Taiwan
| | - Soon-Hian Teh
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 707, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97004, Taiwan
| | - Ling-Chun Lin
- Master Program in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97004, Taiwan
| | - Nien-Tsung Lin
- Master Program in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97004, Taiwan
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4
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Zhu HX, Wright BW, Logel DY, Needham P, Yehl K, Molloy MP, Jaschke PR. IbpAB small heat shock proteins are not host factors for bacteriophage ϕX174 replication. Virology 2024; 597:110169. [PMID: 38996611 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2024.110169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Bacteriophage ϕX174 is a small icosahedral virus of the Microviridae with a rapid replication cycle. Previously, we found that in ϕX174 infections of Escherichia coli, the most highly upregulated host proteins are two small heat shock proteins, IbpA and IbpB, belonging to the HSP20 family, which is a universally conserved group of stress-induced molecular chaperones that prevent irreversible aggregation of proteins. Heat shock proteins were found to protect against ϕX174 lysis, but IbpA/B have not been studied. In this work, we disrupted the ibpA and ibpB genes and measured the effects on ϕX174 replication. We found that in contrast to other E. coli heat shock proteins, they are not necessary for ϕX174 replication; moreover, their absence has no discernible effect on ϕX174 fecundity. These results suggest IbpA/B upregulation is a response to ϕX174 protein expression but does not play a role in phage replication, and they are not Microviridae host factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah X Zhu
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Bradley W Wright
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Dominic Y Logel
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Patrick Needham
- Miami University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Oxford, 45056, USA
| | - Kevin Yehl
- Miami University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Oxford, 45056, USA
| | - Mark P Molloy
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Kolling Institute, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Paul R Jaschke
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
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5
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Parmar K, Fackler JR, Rivas Z, Mandrekar J, Greenwood-Quaintance KE, Patel R. A comparison of phage susceptibility testing with two liquid high-throughput methods. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1386245. [PMID: 39171268 PMCID: PMC11335653 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1386245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Phage therapy is a promising antibacterial strategy, especially given that drug-resistant bacterial infections are escalating worldwide. Because phages are not active against all strains of a given species, phages being considered for therapeutic use would ideally be tested against bacterial isolates from individual patients prior to administration. Standardized, clinically validated phage susceptibility testing (PST) methods are needed for assessing in vitro phage activity. This study compared two high-throughput liquid-based PST assays. The first, using the Biolog Omnilog™, assessed changes in microbial respiration leading to color changes based on a tetrazolium dye. The second, Agilent BioTek Cytation 7, assessed changes in optical density. Both used 96-well microtiter plate formats. A total of 55 diverse phages with activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, or Enterococcus faecalis were studied against their respective susceptible bacterial hosts and non-susceptible controls, with susceptibility defined based on plaque assay. PST was performed by both assays in replicates, with results compared in terms of hold times (time through which bacterial growth is inhibited by phage compared to controls). Coefficients of variance and interclass correlation coefficients were used to assess inter- and intra-assay reproducibility. Based on a ≤50% coefficient of variance cutpoint, 87% of Biolog and 84% of Agilent assays were considered valid for susceptible bacteria, with 100% considered valid for non-susceptible bacteria by both systems. Using a 8 h hold time cutpoint, 100% of the results matched between the two assays. The interclass correlation coefficient showed 26% excellent agreement, 35% good agreement, and 17% moderate agreement between the two assays for susceptible isolates and 100% excellent agreement for non-susceptible isolates. Overall, the assays compared provided good/fair statistical reproducibility for the assessment of phage susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krupa Parmar
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Joseph R. Fackler
- Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, Inc. (APT), Gaithersburg, MD, United States
| | - Zuriel Rivas
- Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, Inc. (APT), Gaithersburg, MD, United States
| | - Jay Mandrekar
- Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Kerryl E. Greenwood-Quaintance
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Robin Patel
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
- Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases, and Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
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6
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Bayat F, Hilal A, Thirugnanasampanthar M, Tremblay D, Filipe CDM, Moineau S, Didar TF, Hosseinidoust Z. High throughput platform technology for rapid target identification in personalized phage therapy. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5626. [PMID: 38992046 PMCID: PMC11239838 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49710-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
As bacteriophages continue to gain regulatory approval for personalized human therapy against antibiotic-resistant infections, there is a need for transformative technologies for rapid target identification through multiple, large, decentralized therapeutic phages biobanks. Here, we design a high throughput phage screening platform comprised of a portable library of individual shelf-stable, ready-to-use phages, in all-inclusive solid tablets. Each tablet encapsulates one phage along with luciferin and luciferase enzyme stabilized in a sugar matrix comprised of pullulan and trehalose capable of directly detecting phage-mediated adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release through ATP bioluminescence reaction upon bacterial cell burst. The tablet composition also enhances desiccation tolerance of all components, which should allow easier and cheaper international transportation of phages and as a result, increased accessibility to therapeutic phages. We demonstrate high throughput screening by identifying target phages for select multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus with targets identified within 30-120 min.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fereshteh Bayat
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Arwa Hilal
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Denise Tremblay
- Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada
- Groupe de recherche en écologie buccale, Faculté de médecine dentaire, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada
- Félix d'Hérelle Reference Center for Bacterial Viruses, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada
| | - Carlos D M Filipe
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sylvain Moineau
- Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada
- Groupe de recherche en écologie buccale, Faculté de médecine dentaire, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada
- Félix d'Hérelle Reference Center for Bacterial Viruses, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada
| | - Tohid F Didar
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Michael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Zeinab Hosseinidoust
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Michael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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7
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Markusková B, Elnwrani S, Andrezál M, Sedláčková T, Szemes T, Slobodníková L, Kajsik M, Drahovská H. Characterization of bacteriophages infecting multidrug-resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains. Arch Virol 2024; 169:142. [PMID: 38851653 PMCID: PMC11162368 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-024-06063-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the most common causative agent of urinary tract infections, and strains that are resistant to antibiotics are a major problem in treating these infections. Phage therapy is a promising alternative approach that can be used to treat infections caused by polyresistant bacterial strains. In the present study, 16 bacteriophages isolated from sewage and surface water were investigated. Phage host specificity was tested on a collection of 77 UPEC strains. The phages infected 2-44 strains, and 80% of the strains were infected by at least one phage. The susceptible E. coli strains belonged predominantly to the B2 phylogenetic group, including strains of two clones, CC131 and CC73, that have a worldwide distribution. All of the phages belonged to class Caudoviricetes and were identified as members of the families Straboviridae, Autographiviridae, and Drexlerviridae and the genera Kagunavirus, Justusliebigvirus, and Murrayvirus. A phage cocktail composed of six phages - four members of the family Straboviridae and two members of the family Autographiviridae - was prepared, and its antibacterial activity was tested in liquid medium. Complete suppression of bacterial growth was observed after 5-22 hours of cultivation, followed by partial regrowth. At 24 hours postinfection, the cocktail suppressed bacterial growth to 43-92% of control values. Similar results were obtained when testing the activity of the phage cocktail in LB and in artificial urine medium. The results indicate that our phage cocktail has potential to inhibit bacterial growth during infection, and they will therefore be preserved in the national phage bank, serving as valuable resources for therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbora Markusková
- University Science Park, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Sulafa Elnwrani
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Michal Andrezál
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Tatiana Sedláčková
- University Science Park, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Tomáš Szemes
- University Science Park, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Lívia Slobodníková
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava and University Hospital Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Michal Kajsik
- University Science Park, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Hana Drahovská
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia.
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8
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Quinones-Olvera N, Owen SV, McCully LM, Marin MG, Rand EA, Fan AC, Martins Dosumu OJ, Paul K, Sanchez Castaño CE, Petherbridge R, Paull JS, Baym M. Diverse and abundant phages exploit conjugative plasmids. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3197. [PMID: 38609370 PMCID: PMC11015023 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47416-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Phages exert profound evolutionary pressure on bacteria by interacting with receptors on the cell surface to initiate infection. While the majority of phages use chromosomally encoded cell surface structures as receptors, plasmid-dependent phages exploit plasmid-encoded conjugation proteins, making their host range dependent on horizontal transfer of the plasmid. Despite their unique biology and biotechnological significance, only a small number of plasmid-dependent phages have been characterized. Here we systematically search for new plasmid-dependent phages targeting IncP and IncF plasmids using a targeted discovery platform, and find that they are common and abundant in wastewater, and largely unexplored in terms of their genetic diversity. Plasmid-dependent phages are enriched in non-canonical types of phages, and all but one of the 65 phages we isolated were non-tailed, and members of the lipid-containing tectiviruses, ssDNA filamentous phages or ssRNA phages. We show that plasmid-dependent tectiviruses exhibit profound differences in their host range which is associated with variation in the phage holin protein. Despite their relatively high abundance in wastewater, plasmid-dependent tectiviruses are missed by metaviromic analyses, underscoring the continued importance of culture-based phage discovery. Finally, we identify a tailed phage dependent on the IncF plasmid, and find related structural genes in phages that use the orthogonal type 4 pilus as a receptor, highlighting the evolutionarily promiscuous use of these distinct contractile structures by multiple groups of phages. Taken together, these results indicate plasmid-dependent phages play an under-appreciated evolutionary role in constraining horizontal gene transfer via conjugative plasmids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Quinones-Olvera
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Siân V Owen
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Lucy M McCully
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Maximillian G Marin
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Eleanor A Rand
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Alice C Fan
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Oluremi J Martins Dosumu
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA, 02120, USA
| | - Kay Paul
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA, 02120, USA
| | - Cleotilde E Sanchez Castaño
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA, 02120, USA
| | - Rachel Petherbridge
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Jillian S Paull
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Michael Baym
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
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9
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Acton L, Pye HV, Thilliez G, Kolenda R, Matthews M, Turner AK, Yasir M, Holden E, Al-Khanaq H, Webber M, Adriaenssens EM, Kingsley RA. Collateral sensitivity increases the efficacy of a rationally designed bacteriophage combination to control Salmonella enterica. J Virol 2024; 98:e0147623. [PMID: 38376991 PMCID: PMC10949491 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01476-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The ability of virulent bacteriophages to lyse bacteria influences bacterial evolution, fitness, and population structure. Knowledge of both host susceptibility and resistance factors is crucial for the successful application of bacteriophages as biological control agents in clinical therapy, food processing, and agriculture. In this study, we isolated 12 bacteriophages termed SPLA phage which infect the foodborne pathogen Salmonella enterica. To determine phage host range, a diverse collection of Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella enterica was used and genes involved in infection by six SPLA phages were identified using Salmonella Typhimurium strain ST4/74. Candidate host receptors included lipopolysaccharide (LPS), cellulose, and BtuB. Lipopolysaccharide was identified as a susceptibility factor for phage SPLA1a and mutations in LPS biosynthesis genes spontaneously emerged during culture with S. Typhimurium. Conversely, LPS was a resistance factor for phage SPLA5b which suggested that emergence of LPS mutations in culture with SPLA1a represented collateral sensitivity to SPLA5b. We show that bacteria-phage co-culture with SPLA1a and SPLA5b was more successful in limiting the emergence of phage resistance compared to single phage co-culture. Identification of host susceptibility and resistance genes and understanding infection dynamics are critical steps in the rationale design of phage cocktails against specific bacterial pathogens.IMPORTANCEAs antibiotic resistance continues to emerge in bacterial pathogens, bacterial viruses (phage) represent a potential alternative or adjunct to antibiotics. One challenge for their implementation is the predisposition of bacteria to rapidly acquire resistance to phages. We describe a functional genomics approach to identify mechanisms of susceptibility and resistance for newly isolated phages that infect and lyse Salmonella enterica and use this information to identify phage combinations that exploit collateral sensitivity, thus increasing efficacy. Collateral sensitivity is a phenomenon where resistance to one class of antibiotics increases sensitivity to a second class of antibiotics. We report a functional genomics approach to rationally design a phage combination with a collateral sensitivity dynamic which resulted in increased efficacy. Considering such evolutionary trade-offs has the potential to manipulate the outcome of phage therapy in favor of resolving infection without selecting for escape mutants and is applicable to other virus-host interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Acton
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
- University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah V. Pye
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
- University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Gaëtan Thilliez
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Rafał Kolenda
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Michaela Matthews
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - A. Keith Turner
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Muhammad Yasir
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Emma Holden
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Haider Al-Khanaq
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Webber
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
- University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | | | - Robert A. Kingsley
- Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
- University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
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10
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Andrews K, Landeryou T, Sicheritz-Pontén T, Nale JY. Diverse Prophage Elements of Salmonella enterica Serovars Show Potential Roles in Bacterial Pathogenicity. Cells 2024; 13:514. [PMID: 38534358 DOI: 10.3390/cells13060514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Nontyphoidal salmonellosis is an important foodborne and zoonotic infection that causes significant global public health concern. Diverse serovars are multidrug-resistant and encode several virulence indicators; however, little is known on the role prophages play in driving these traits. Here, we extracted prophages from seventy-five Salmonella genomes which represent the fifteen important serovars in the United Kingdom. We analyzed the intact prophages for the presence of virulence genes and established their genomic relationships. We identified 615 prophages from the Salmonella strains, from which 195 prophages are intact, 332 are incomplete, while 88 are questionable. The average prophage carriage was found to be 'extreme' in S. Heidelberg, S. Inverness, and S. Newport (10.2-11.6 prophages/strain), 'high' in S. Infantis, S. Stanley, S. Typhimurium, and S. Virchow (8.2-9.0 prophages/strain), 'moderate' in S. Agona, S. Braenderup, S. Bovismorbificans, S. Choleraesuis, S. Dublin, and S. Java (6.0-7.8 prophages/strain), and 'low' in S. Javiana and S. Enteritidis (5.8 prophages/strain). Cumulatively, 61 virulence genes (1500 gene copies) were detected from representative intact prophages and linked to Salmonella delivery/secretion system (42.62%), adherence (32.7%), magnesium uptake (3.88%), regulation (5%), stress/survival (1.6%), toxins (10%), and antivirulence (1.6%). Diverse clusters were formed among the intact prophages and with bacteriophages of other enterobacteria, suggesting different lineages and associations. Our work provides a strong body of data to support the contributions diverse prophages make to the pathogenicity of Salmonella, including thirteen previously unexplored serovars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirstie Andrews
- Centre for Epidemiology and Planetary Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Scotland's Rural College, Inverness IV2 5NA, UK
| | - Toby Landeryou
- Centre for Epidemiology and Planetary Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Scotland's Rural College, Inverness IV2 5NA, UK
| | - Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1353 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Janet Yakubu Nale
- Centre for Epidemiology and Planetary Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Scotland's Rural College, Inverness IV2 5NA, UK
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11
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Wang X, Leptihn S. Defense and anti-defense mechanisms of bacteria and bacteriophages. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B 2024; 25:181-196. [PMID: 38453634 PMCID: PMC10918411 DOI: 10.1631/jzus.b2300101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
In the post-antibiotic era, the overuse of antimicrobials has led to a massive increase in antimicrobial resistance, leaving medical doctors few or no treatment options to fight infections caused by superbugs. The use of bacteriophages is a promising alternative to treat infections, supplementing or possibly even replacing antibiotics. Using phages for therapy is possible, since these bacterial viruses can kill bacteria specifically, causing no harm to the normal flora. However, bacteria have developed a multitude of sophisticated and complex ways to resist infection by phages, including abortive infection and the clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) system. Phages also can evolve and acquire new anti-defense strategies to continue predation. An in-depth exploration of both defense and anti-defense mechanisms would contribute to optimizing phage therapy, while we would also gain novel insights into the microbial world. In this paper, we summarize recent research on bacterial phage resistance and phage anti-defense mechanisms, as well as collaborative win-win systems involving both virus and host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqing Wang
- School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, China.
| | - Sebastian Leptihn
- University of Edinburgh Medical School, Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK.
- HMU Health and Medical University, Am Anger 64/73- 99084 Erfurt, Germany.
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12
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Wiebe KG, Cook BWM, Lightly TJ, Court DA, Theriault SS. Investigation into scalable and efficient enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli bacteriophage production. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3618. [PMID: 38351153 PMCID: PMC10864315 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53276-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
As the demand for bacteriophage (phage) therapy increases due to antibiotic resistance in microbial pathogens, strategies and methods for increased efficiency, large-scale phage production need to be determined. To date, very little has been published on how to establish scalable production for phages, while achieving and maintaining a high titer in an economical manner. The present work outlines a phage production strategy using an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-targeting phage, 'Phage75', and accounts for the following variables: infection load, multiplicity of infection, temperature, media composition, harvest time, and host bacteria. To streamline this process, variables impacting phage propagation were screened through a high-throughput assay monitoring optical density at 600 nm (OD600) to indirectly infer phage production from host cell lysis. Following screening, propagation conditions were translated in a scalable fashion in shake flasks at 0.01 L, 0.1 L, and 1 L. A final, proof-of-concept production was then carried out in a CellMaker bioreactor to represent practical application at an industrial level. Phage titers were obtained in the range of 9.5-10.1 log10 PFU/mL with no significant difference between yields from shake flasks and CellMaker. Overall, this suggests that the methodology for scalable processing is reliable for translating into large-scale phage production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie G Wiebe
- Cytophage Technologies Inc., Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | | | | | - Deborah A Court
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Steven S Theriault
- Cytophage Technologies Inc., Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
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13
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Goicoechea Serrano E, Blázquez-Bondia C, Jaramillo A. T7 phage-assisted evolution of riboswitches using error-prone replication and dual selection. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2377. [PMID: 38287027 PMCID: PMC10824729 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52049-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Leveraging riboswitches, non-coding mRNA fragments pivotal to gene regulation, poses a challenge in effectively selecting and enriching these functional genetic sensors, which can toggle between ON and OFF states in response to their cognate inducers. Here, we show our engineered phage T7, enabling the evolution of a theophylline riboswitch. We have replaced T7's DNA polymerase with a transcription factor controlled by a theophylline riboswitch and have created two types of host environments to propagate the engineered phage. Both types host an error-prone T7 DNA polymerase regulated by a T7 promoter along with another critical gene-either cmk or pifA, depending on the host type. The cmk gene is necessary for T7 replication and is used in the first host type for selection in the riboswitch's ON state. Conversely, the second host type incorporates the pifA gene, leading to abortive T7 infections and used for selection in the riboswitch's OFF state. This dual-selection system, termed T7AE, was then applied to a library of 65,536 engineered T7 phages, each carrying randomized riboswitch variants. Through successive passage in both host types with and without theophylline, we observed an enrichment of phages encoding functional riboswitches that conferred a fitness advantage to the phage in both hosts. The T7AE technique thereby opens new pathways for the evolution and advancement of gene switches, including non-coding RNA-based switches, setting the stage for significant strides in synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Goicoechea Serrano
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre and School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
- London BioFoundry, Imperial College Translation & Innovation Hub, White City Campus, 84 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Carlos Blázquez-Bondia
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre and School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Alfonso Jaramillo
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre and School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
- De novo Synthetic Biology Lab, i2sysbio, CSIC-University of Valencia, Parc Científic Universitat de València, Calle Catedrático Agustín Escardino, 9, 46980, Paterna, Spain.
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14
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Ali SF, Teh SH, Yang HH, Tsai YC, Chao HJ, Peng SS, Chen SC, Lin LC, Lin NT. Therapeutic Potential of a Novel Lytic Phage, vB_EclM_ECLFM1, against Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacter cloacae. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:854. [PMID: 38255926 PMCID: PMC10815064 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25020854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The global rise of multidrug-resistant Enterobacter cloacae strains, especially those that are resistant to carbapenems and produce metallo-β-lactamases, poses a critical challenge in clinical settings owing to limited treatment options. While bacteriophages show promise in treating these infections, their use is hindered by scarce resources and insufficient genomic data. In this study, we isolated ECLFM1, a novel E. cloacae phage, from sewage water using a carbapenem-resistant clinical strain as the host. ECLFM1 exhibited rapid adsorption and a 15-min latent period, with a burst size of approximately 75 PFU/infected cell. Its genome, spanning 172,036 bp, was characterized and identified as a member of Karamvirus. In therapeutic applications, owing to a high multiplicity of infection, ECLFM1 showed increased survival in zebrafish infected with E. cloacae. This study highlights ECLFM1's potential as a candidate for controlling clinical E. cloacae infections, which would help address challenges in treating multidrug-resistant strains and contribute to the development of alternative treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saieeda Fabia Ali
- Master Program in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97004, Taiwan;
| | - Soon-Hian Teh
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 707, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97002, Taiwan;
| | - Hsueh-Hui Yang
- Department of Medical Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 707, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97002, Taiwan;
| | - Yun-Chan Tsai
- Department of Life Sciences, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97004, Taiwan;
| | - Huei-Jen Chao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 707, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97002, Taiwan; (H.-J.C.); (S.-S.P.); (S.-C.C.)
| | - Si-Shiuan Peng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 707, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97002, Taiwan; (H.-J.C.); (S.-S.P.); (S.-C.C.)
| | - Shu-Chen Chen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 707, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97002, Taiwan; (H.-J.C.); (S.-S.P.); (S.-C.C.)
| | - Ling-Chun Lin
- Master Program in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97004, Taiwan;
| | - Nien-Tsung Lin
- Master Program in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Sec. 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 97004, Taiwan;
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15
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Quinones-Olvera N, Owen SV, McCully LM, Marin MG, Rand EA, Fan AC, Martins Dosumu OJ, Paul K, Sanchez Castaño CE, Petherbridge R, Paull JS, Baym M. Diverse and abundant phages exploit conjugative plasmids. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.19.532758. [PMID: 36993299 PMCID: PMC10055259 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.19.532758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Phages exert profound evolutionary pressure on bacteria by interacting with receptors on the cell surface to initiate infection. While the majority of phages use chromosomally-encoded cell surface structures as receptors, plasmid-dependent phages exploit plasmid-encoded conjugation proteins, making their host range dependent on horizontal transfer of the plasmid. Despite their unique biology and biotechnological significance, only a small number of plasmid-dependent phages have been characterized. Here we systematically search for new plasmid-dependent phages targeting IncP and IncF plasmids using a targeted discovery platform, and find that they are common and abundant in wastewater, and largely unexplored in terms of their genetic diversity. Plasmid-dependent phages are enriched in non-canonical types of phages, and all but one of the 64 phages we isolated were non-tailed, and members of the lipid-containing tectiviruses, ssDNA filamentous phages or ssRNA phages. We show that plasmid-dependent tectiviruses exhibit profound differences in their host range which is associated with variation in the phage holin protein. Despite their relatively high abundance in wastewater, plasmid-dependent tectiviruses are missed by metaviromic analyses, underscoring the continued importance of culture-based phage discovery. Finally, we identify a tailed phage dependent on the IncF plasmid, and find related structural genes in phages that use the orthogonal type 4 pilus as a receptor, highlighting the promiscuous use of these distinct contractile structures by multiple groups of phages. Taken together, these results indicate plasmid-dependent phages play an under-appreciated evolutionary role in constraining horizontal gene transfer via conjugative plasmids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Quinones-Olvera
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Siân V. Owen
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lucy M. McCully
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Maximillian G. Marin
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Eleanor A. Rand
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Alice C. Fan
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Oluremi J. Martins Dosumu
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA, 02120, USA
| | - Kay Paul
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA, 02120, USA
| | - Cleotilde E. Sanchez Castaño
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA, 02120, USA
| | - Rachel Petherbridge
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jillian S. Paull
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Michael Baym
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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16
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Parmar K, Komarow L, Ellison DW, Filippov AA, Nikolich MP, Fackler JR, Lee M, Nair A, Agrawal P, Tamma PD, Souli M, Evans SR, Greenwood-Quaintance KE, Cunningham SA, Patel R. Interlaboratory comparison of Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage susceptibility testing. J Clin Microbiol 2023; 61:e0061423. [PMID: 37962552 PMCID: PMC10729752 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.00614-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Standardized approaches to phage susceptibility testing (PST) are essential to inform selection of phages for study in patients with bacterial infections. There is no reference standard for assessing bacterial susceptibility to phage. We compared agreement between PST performed at three centers: two centers using a liquid assay standardized between the sites with the third, a plaque assay. Four Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages: PaWRA01ø11 (EPa11), PaWRA01ø39 (EPa39), PaWRA02ø83 (EPa83), PaWRA02ø87 (EPa87), and a cocktail of all four phages were tested against 145 P. aeruginosa isolates. Comparisons were made within measurements at the two sites performing the liquid assay and between these two sites. Agreement was assessed based on coverage probability (CP8), total deviation index, concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), measurement accuracy, and precision. For the liquid assay, there was satisfactory agreement among triplicate measurements made on different days at site 1, and high agreement based on accuracy and precision between duplicate measurements made on the same run at site 2. There was fair accuracy between measurements of the two sites performing the liquid assay, with CCCs below 0.6 for all phages tested. When compared to the plaque assay (performed once at site 3), there was less agreement between results of the liquid and plaque assays than between the two sites performing the liquid assay. Similar findings to the larger group were noted in the subset of 46 P. aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis. Results of this study suggest that reproducibility of PST methods needs further development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krupa Parmar
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Lauren Komarow
- Biostatistics Center, George Washington University, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Damon W. Ellison
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Andrey A. Filippov
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Mikeljon P. Nikolich
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Martin Lee
- Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
| | - Anjna Nair
- Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
| | - Priyesh Agrawal
- Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
| | - Pranita D. Tamma
- Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Maria Souli
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Scott R. Evans
- Biostatistics Center, George Washington University, Rockville, Maryland, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA
| | - Kerryl E. Greenwood-Quaintance
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Scott A. Cunningham
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Robin Patel
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
- Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases, and Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - for the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
- Biostatistics Center, George Washington University, Rockville, Maryland, USA
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
- Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA
- Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases, and Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
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17
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Aguilera M, Tobar-Calfucoy E, Rojas-Martínez V, Norambuena R, Serrano MJ, Cifuentes O, Zamudio MS, San Martín D, Lara P, Sabag A, Zabner M, Tichy D, Camejo P, León L, Pino M, Ulloa S, Rojas F, Pieringer C, Muster C, Castillo D, Ferreira N, Avendaño C, Canaval M, Pieringer H, Cifuentes P, Cifuentes Muñoz N. Development and characterization of a bacteriophage cocktail with high lytic efficacy against field-isolated Salmonella enterica. Poult Sci 2023; 102:103125. [PMID: 37879168 PMCID: PMC10618821 DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.103125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Salmonella spp. is a prevalent pathogen that causes great public health concern worldwide. Bacteriophage-based cocktails have arisen as an alternative to antibiotics to inhibit the growth of Salmonella. However, the bactericidal effect of bacteriophage cocktails in vivo largely differs from their observed effect in vitro. This is partly because in vitro developments of cocktails do not always consider the bacterial diversity nor the environmental conditions where bacteriophages will have to replicate. Here, we isolated and sequenced 47 bacteriophages that showed variable degrees of lytic activity against 258 Salmonella isolates from a commercial broiler company in Brazil. Three of these bacteriophages were characterized and selected to assemble a cocktail. In vitro quantitative assays determined the cocktail to be highly effective against multiple serovars of Salmonella, including Minnesota and Heidelberg. Remarkably, the in vitro lytic activity of the cocktail was retained or improved in conditions that more closely resembled the chicken gut, such as anaerobiosis, 42°C, and Salmonella mono-strain biofilms. Analysis of bacterial cross-resistance between the 3 bacteriophages composing the cocktail revealed limited or no generation of cross-resistance. Our results highlight the relevance of an optimized flux of work to develop bacteriophage cocktails against Salmonella with high lytic efficacy and strong potential to be applied in vivo in commercial broiler farms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matías Aguilera
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Eduardo Tobar-Calfucoy
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Victoria Rojas-Martínez
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Norambuena
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - María Jesús Serrano
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Onix Cifuentes
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - María Sofía Zamudio
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniel San Martín
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Pabla Lara
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Andrea Sabag
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Marcela Zabner
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniel Tichy
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Pamela Camejo
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Luis León
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Michael Pino
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Soledad Ulloa
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Felipe Rojas
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Christian Pieringer
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cecilia Muster
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniel Castillo
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Nicolás Ferreira
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Camilo Avendaño
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Mauro Canaval
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Hans Pieringer
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Pablo Cifuentes
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Nicolás Cifuentes Muñoz
- PhageLab Chile SpA, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Centro de Innovación Anacleto Angelini 5th floor, Santiago, Chile..
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18
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Yao G, Le T, Korn AM, Peterson HN, Liu M, Gonzalez CF, Gill JJ. Phage Milagro: a platform for engineering a broad host range virulent phage for Burkholderia. J Virol 2023; 97:e0085023. [PMID: 37943040 PMCID: PMC10688314 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00850-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Burkholderia infections are a significant concern in people with CF and other immunocompromising disorders, and are difficult to treat with conventional antibiotics due to their inherent drug resistance. Bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses, are now seen as a potential alternative therapy for these infections, but most of the naturally occurring phages are temperate and have narrow host ranges, which limit their utility as therapeutics. Here we describe the temperate Burkholderia phage Milagro and our efforts to engineer this phage into a potential therapeutic by expanding the phage host range and selecting for phage mutants that are strictly virulent. This approach may be used to generate new therapeutic agents for treating intractable infections in CF patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guichun Yao
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Tram Le
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Abby M. Korn
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Hannah N. Peterson
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Mei Liu
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Carlos F. Gonzalez
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Jason J. Gill
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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19
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Plumet L, Morsli M, Ahmad-Mansour N, Clavijo-Coppens F, Berry L, Sotto A, Lavigne JP, Costechareyre D, Molle V. Isolation and Characterization of New Bacteriophages against Staphylococcal Clinical Isolates from Diabetic Foot Ulcers. Viruses 2023; 15:2287. [PMID: 38140529 PMCID: PMC10747802 DOI: 10.3390/v15122287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Staphylococcus sp. is the most common bacterial genus in infections related to diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria places a serious burden on public health systems. Phage therapy is an alternative treatment to antibiotics, overcoming the issue of antibiotic resistance. In this study, six phages (SAVM01 to SAVM06) were isolated from effluents and were used against a panel of staphylococcal clinical samples isolated from DFUs. A genomic analysis revealed that the phages belonged to the Herelleviridae family, with sequences similar to those of the Kayvirus genus. No lysogeny-associated genes, known virulence or drug resistance genes were identified in the phage genomes. The phages displayed a strong lytic and antibiofilm activity against DFU clinical isolates, as well as against opportunistic pathogenic coagulase-negative staphylococci. The results presented here suggest that these phages could be effective biocontrol agents against staphylococcal clinical isolates from DFUs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucile Plumet
- VBIC, INSERM U1047, University of Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier, France; (L.P.); (N.A.-M.)
| | - Madjid Morsli
- VBIC, INSERM U1047, Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, University of Montpellier, CHU Nîmes, 30908 Nîmes, France; (M.M.); (J.-P.L.)
| | - Nour Ahmad-Mansour
- VBIC, INSERM U1047, University of Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier, France; (L.P.); (N.A.-M.)
| | | | - Laurence Berry
- Laboratory of Pathogen and Host Immunity, CNRS UMR5294, University of Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier, France;
| | - Albert Sotto
- VBIC, INSERM U1047, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of de Montpellier, CHU Nîmes, 30908 Nîmes, France;
| | - Jean-Philippe Lavigne
- VBIC, INSERM U1047, Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, University of Montpellier, CHU Nîmes, 30908 Nîmes, France; (M.M.); (J.-P.L.)
| | | | - Virginie Molle
- VBIC, INSERM U1047, University of Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier, France; (L.P.); (N.A.-M.)
- VBIC, INSERM U1047, Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, University of Montpellier, CHU Nîmes, 30908 Nîmes, France; (M.M.); (J.-P.L.)
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20
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Loney RE, Delesalle VA, Chaudry BE, Czerpak M, Guffey AA, Goubet-McCall L, McCarty M, Strine MS, Tanke NT, Vill AC, Krukonis GP. A Novel Subcluster of Closely Related Bacillus Phages with Distinct Tail Fiber/Lysin Gene Combinations. Viruses 2023; 15:2267. [PMID: 38005943 PMCID: PMC10674732 DOI: 10.3390/v15112267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) are the most numerous entities on Earth, but we have only scratched the surface of describing phage diversity. We isolated seven Bacillus subtilis phages from desert soil in the southwest United States and then sequenced and characterized their genomes. Comparative analyses revealed high nucleotide and amino acid similarity between these seven phages, which constitute a novel subcluster. Interestingly, the tail fiber and lysin genes of these phages seem to come from different origins and carry out slightly different functions. These genes were likely acquired by this subcluster of phages via horizontal gene transfer. In conjunction with host range assays, our data suggest that these phages are adapting to hosts with different cell walls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel E. Loney
- University Program in Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Véronique A. Delesalle
- Department of Biology, Gettysburg College, 300 N Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA; (M.C.); (M.M.)
| | | | - Megan Czerpak
- Department of Biology, Gettysburg College, 300 N Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA; (M.C.); (M.M.)
| | - Alexandra A. Guffey
- Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC. 200 Tournament Dr., Horsham, PA 19044, USA;
| | - Leo Goubet-McCall
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 201 Huck Life Sciences Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA;
| | - Michael McCarty
- Department of Biology, Gettysburg College, 300 N Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA; (M.C.); (M.M.)
| | - Madison S. Strine
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA;
| | - Natalie T. Tanke
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;
| | - Albert C. Vill
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA;
| | - Greg P. Krukonis
- Department of Biology, Angelo State University, Cavness Science Building 101, ASU Station #10890, San Angelo, TX 76909, USA;
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21
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Yerushalmy O, Braunstein R, Alkalay-Oren S, Rimon A, Coppenhagn-Glazer S, Onallah H, Nir-Paz R, Hazan R. Towards Standardization of Phage Susceptibility Testing: The Israeli Phage Therapy Center "Clinical Phage Microbiology"-A Pipeline Proposal. Clin Infect Dis 2023; 77:S337-S351. [PMID: 37932122 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciad514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Using phages as salvage therapy for nonhealing infections is gaining recognition as a viable solution for patients with such infections. The escalating issue of antibiotic resistance further emphasizes the significance of using phages in treating bacterial infections, encompassing compassionate-use scenarios and clinical trials. Given the high specificity of phages, selecting the suitable phage(s) targeting the causative bacteria becomes critical for achieving treatment success. However, in contrast to conventional antibiotics, where susceptibility-testing procedures were well established for phage therapy, there is a lack of standard frameworks for matching phages from a panel to target bacterial strains and assessing their interactions with antibiotics or other agents. This review discusses and compares published methods for clinical phage microbiology, also known as phage susceptibility testing, and proposes guidelines for establishing a standard pipeline based on our findings over the past 5 years of phage therapy at the Israeli Phage Therapy Center.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ortal Yerushalmy
- The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC) of Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Faculty of Dental Medicine, Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ron Braunstein
- The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC) of Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Faculty of Dental Medicine, Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Sivan Alkalay-Oren
- The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC) of Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Faculty of Dental Medicine, Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- The Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Amit Rimon
- The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC) of Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Faculty of Dental Medicine, Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Shunit Coppenhagn-Glazer
- The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC) of Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Faculty of Dental Medicine, Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Hadil Onallah
- The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC) of Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ran Nir-Paz
- The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC) of Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- The Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ronen Hazan
- The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC) of Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Faculty of Dental Medicine, Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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22
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Imm S, Chang Y. Evaluation of the biocontrol potential of a collagen peptide/trehalose-based Cronobacter sakazakii phage powder in rehydrated powdered infant formula. Food Res Int 2023; 173:113257. [PMID: 37803569 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
Cronobacter sakazakii is a major foodborne pathogen that is mainly transmitted through powdered infant formula (PIF) and has a high mortality rate of up to 80%, particularly in fetuses and neonates. Bacteriophages have emerged as an effective biocontrol agent for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this study, lytic phage SG01 was newly characterized and loaded into collagen peptide/trehalose-based powders to develop an antibacterial agent against C. sakazakii contamination in PIF. The phage belongs to the Siphoviridae family, has an icosahedral head and a flexible tail, and showed rapid and persistent antibacterial activity up to 17 h. It was specifically active against C. sakazakii and also exhibited effective anti-biofilm properties. The phage was freeze-dried to a collagen peptide/trehalose-based powder and the phage was tested for viability, storage stability, and antibacterial activity. The optimal composition was 5% (w/v) collagen peptides and 1% (w/v) trehalose, which demonstrated the highest phage viability after freeze-drying. The phage remained stable in the collagen peptide/trehalose-based powder for up to four weeks at 4 °C and 25 °C, indicating that this is a desirable formulation for phage protection. Furthermore, the phage powder showed significant antibacterial efficacy in PIF, with a 4-log CFU/mL reduction within 6 h. Overall, the tested phage powder has the potential to be used as an antimicrobial agent in the food industry, particularly in powdered foods such as PIF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seulgi Imm
- Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Science and Technology, Kookmin University, Seoul 02707, Republic of Korea.
| | - Yoonjee Chang
- Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Science and Technology, Kookmin University, Seoul 02707, Republic of Korea.
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23
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Nickodem CA, Arnold AN, Beck MR, Bush KJ, Gehring KB, Gill JJ, Le T, Proctor JA, Richeson JT, Scott HM, Smith JK, Taylor TM, Vinasco J, Norman KN. An Experimental Field Trial Investigating the Use of Bacteriophage and Manure Slurry Applications in Beef Cattle Feedlot Pens for Salmonella Mitigation. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3170. [PMID: 37893894 PMCID: PMC10603643 DOI: 10.3390/ani13203170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Post-harvest Salmonella mitigation techniques are insufficient at addressing Salmonella harbored in cattle lymph nodes, necessitating the exploration of pre-harvest alternatives that reduce Salmonella prior to dissemination to the lymph nodes. A 2 × 2, unbalanced experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of pre-harvest treatments applied to the pen surface for Salmonella mitigation in cattle. Treatments included manure slurry intended to mimic pen run-off water (n = 4 pens), a bacteriophage cocktail (n = 4), a combination of both treatments (n = 5), and a control group (n = 5) that received no treatment. Environment samples from 18 feedlot pens and fecal grabs, hide swabs, and subiliac lymph nodes from 178 cattle were collected and selectively enriched for Salmonella, and Salmonella isolates were sequenced. The combination treatment was most effective at reducing Salmonella, and the prevalence was significantly lower compared with the control group for rump swabs on Days 14 and 21. The treatment impact on Salmonella in the lymph nodes could not be determined due to low prevalence. The reduction on cattle hides suggests that bacteriophage or water treatments applied to the feedlot pen surface may reduce Salmonella populations in cattle during the pre-harvest period, resulting in reduced contamination during slaughter and processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colette A. Nickodem
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA;
| | - Ashley N. Arnold
- Texas A&M Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA;
| | - Matthew R. Beck
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service, Bushland, TX 79012, USA;
| | - K. Jack Bush
- Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University System, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA;
| | - Kerri B. Gehring
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (K.B.G.); (J.J.G.); (T.L.); (T.M.T.)
| | - Jason J. Gill
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (K.B.G.); (J.J.G.); (T.L.); (T.M.T.)
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
| | - Tram Le
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (K.B.G.); (J.J.G.); (T.L.); (T.M.T.)
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
| | - Jarret A. Proctor
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (K.B.G.); (J.J.G.); (T.L.); (T.M.T.)
| | - John T. Richeson
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX 79016, USA;
| | - H. Morgan Scott
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (H.M.S.); (J.V.)
| | - Jason K. Smith
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA;
| | - T. Matthew Taylor
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (K.B.G.); (J.J.G.); (T.L.); (T.M.T.)
| | - Javier Vinasco
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (H.M.S.); (J.V.)
| | - Keri N. Norman
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA;
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24
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Dedrick RM, Abad L, Storey N, Kaganovsky AM, Smith BE, Aull HA, Cristinziano M, Morkowska A, Murthy S, Loebinger MR, Hatfull GF, Satta G. The problem of Mycobacterium abscessus complex: multi-drug resistance, bacteriophage susceptibility and potential healthcare transmission. Clin Microbiol Infect 2023; 29:1335.e9-1335.e16. [PMID: 37364635 PMCID: PMC10583746 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmi.2023.06.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Mycobacterium abscessus complex is responsible for 2.6-13.0% of all non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary infections and these are notoriously difficult to treat due to the complex regimens required, drug resistance and adverse effects. Hence, bacteriophages have been considered in clinical practice as an additional treatment option. Here, we evaluated antibiotic and phage susceptibility profiles of M. abscessus clinical isolates. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) revealed the phylogenetic relationships, dominant circulating clones (DCCs), the likelihood of patient-to-patient transmission and the presence of prophages. METHODS Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using CLSI breakpoints (n = 95), and plaque assays were used for phage susceptibility testing (subset of n = 88, 35 rough and 53 smooth morphology). WGS was completed using the Illumina platform and analysed using Snippy/snp-dists and Discovery and Extraction of Phages Tool (DEPhT). RESULTS Amikacin and Tigecycline were the most active drugs (with 2 strains resistant to amikacin, and one strain with Tigecycline MIC of 4 μg/mL). Most strains were resistant to all other drugs tested, with Linezolid and Imipenem showing the least resistance, at 38% (36/95) and 55% (52/95), respectively. Rough colony morphotype strains were more phage-susceptible than smooth strains (77%-27/35 versus 48%-25/53 in the plaque assays, but smooth strains are not killed efficiently by those phages in liquid infection assay). We have also identified 100 resident prophages, some of which were propagated lytically. DCC1 (20%-18/90) and DCC4 (22%-20/90) were observed to be the major clones and WGS identified 6 events of possible patient-to-patient transmission. DISCUSSION Many strains of M. abscessus complex are intrinsically resistant to available antibiotics and bacteriophages represent an alternative therapeutic option, but only for strains with rough morphology. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of hospital-borne M. abscessus transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekah M Dedrick
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Lawrence Abad
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Nathaniel Storey
- Department of Microbiology, Virology and Infection Control, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Ari M Kaganovsky
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Bailey E Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Haley A Aull
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Madison Cristinziano
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Saraswathi Murthy
- Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, Guys and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Michael R Loebinger
- Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, Guys and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Graham F Hatfull
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Giovanni Satta
- Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, London, UK; Infection Division, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
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25
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Zaki BM, Mohamed AA, Dawoud A, Essam K, Hammouda ZK, Abdelsattar AS, El-Shibiny A. Isolation, screening and characterization of phage. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2023; 200:13-60. [PMID: 37739553 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2023.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial resistance threatens public health due to a lack of novel antibacterial classes since the 21st century. Bacteriophages, the most ubiquitous microorganism on Earth and natural predators of bacteria, have the potential to save the world from the post-antibiotic era. Therefore, phage isolation and characterization are in high demand to find suitable phages for therapeutic and bacterial control applications. The chapter presents brief guidance supported by recommendations on the isolation of phages, and initial screening of phage antimicrobial efficacy, in addition to, conducting comprehensive characterization addressing morphological, biological, genomic, and taxonomic features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bishoy Maher Zaki
- Center for Microbiology and Phage Therapy, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt; Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), Giza, Egypt
| | - Amira A Mohamed
- Center for Microbiology and Phage Therapy, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt
| | - Alyaa Dawoud
- Center for Microbiology and Phage Therapy, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt; Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, German University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Kareem Essam
- Center for Microbiology and Phage Therapy, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt
| | - Zainab K Hammouda
- Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), Giza, Egypt
| | - Abdallah S Abdelsattar
- Center for Microbiology and Phage Therapy, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt
| | - Ayman El-Shibiny
- Center for Microbiology and Phage Therapy, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt; Faculty of Environmental Agricultural Sciences, Arish University, Arish, Egypt
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26
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Ali Z, Dishisha T, El-Gendy AO, Azmy AF. Isolation and phenotypic characterization of bacteriophage SA14 with lytic- and anti-biofilm activity against multidrug-resistant Enterococcus faecalis. BENI-SUEF UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF BASIC AND APPLIED SCIENCES 2023. [DOI: 10.1186/s43088-023-00362-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global health concern demanding more attention and action at the international-, national- and regional levels. In the present study, bacteriophage was sought as a potential alternative to traditional antibiotics.
Results
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis was isolated from a urine sample. Partial 16S rRNA-gene sequencing and VITEK®2 system were employed for its identification, biochemical characterization, and antibiotic susceptibility testing. The isolate was resistant to eight antibiotics (out of 11): vancomycin, gentamicin (high-level synergy), streptomycin (high-level synergy), ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, erythromycin, quinupristin/dalfopristin, and tetracycline. Bacteriophage SA14 was isolated from sewage water using the multidrug-resistant isolate as a host. Transmission electron micrographs revealed that phage SA14 is a member of the Siphoviridae family displaying the typical circular head and long non-contractile tail. The phage showed characteristic stability to a wide range of solution pH and temperatures, with optimal stability at pH 7.4 and 4 °C, while showing high specificity toward their host. Based on the one-step growth curve, the phage's latent period was 25 min, and the burst size was 20 PFU/ml. The lytic activity of phage SA14 was evaluated at various multiplicities of infection (MOI), all considerably suppressed the growth of the host organism. Moreover, phage SA14 displayed a characteristic anti-biofilm activity as observed by the reduction in adhered biomass and -viable cells in the pre-formed biofilm by 19.1-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively.
Conclusion
Phage therapy can be a valuable alternative to antibiotics against multi-drug resistant microorganisms.
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Escobedo S, Pérez de Pipaon M, Rendueles C, Rodríguez A, Martínez B. Cell wall modifications that alter the exolytic activity of lactococcal phage endolysins have little impact on phage growth. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1106049. [PMID: 36744092 PMCID: PMC9894900 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1106049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages are a nuisance in the production of fermented dairy products driven by starter bacteria and strategies to reduce the risk of phage infection are permanently sought. Bearing in mind that the bacterial cell wall plays a pivotal role in host recognition and lysis, our goal was to elucidate to which extent modifications in the cell wall may alter endolysin activity and influence the outcome of phage infection in Lactococcus. Three lactococcal endolysins with distinct catalytic domains (CHAP, amidase and lysozyme) from phages 1,358, p2 and c2 respectively, were purified and their exolytic activity was tested against lactococcal mutants either overexpressing or lacking genes involved in the cell envelope stress (CES) response or in modifying peptidoglycan (PG) composition. After recombinant production in E. coli, Lys1358 (CHAP) and LysC2 (muramidase) were able to lyse lactococcal cells in turbidity reduction assays, but no activity of LysP2 was detected. The degree of PG acetylation, namely C6-O-acetylation and de-N-acetylation influenced the exolytic activity, being LysC2 more active against cells depleted of the PG deacetylase PgdA and the O-acetyl transferase OatA. On the contrary, both endolysins showed reduced activity on cells with an induced CES response. By measuring several growth parameters of phage c2 on these lactococcal mutants (lytic score, efficiency of plaquing, plaque size and one-step curves), a direct link between the exolytic activity of its endolysin and phage performance could not be stablished.
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Egido JE, Toner-Bartelds C, Costa AR, Brouns SJJ, Rooijakkers SHM, Bardoel BW, Haas PJ. Monitoring phage-induced lysis of gram-negatives in real time using a fluorescent DNA dye. Sci Rep 2023; 13:856. [PMID: 36646746 PMCID: PMC9842612 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-27734-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that specifically attack bacteria. Their use as therapeutics, which constitutes a promising alternative to antibiotics, heavily relies on selecting effective lytic phages against the pathogen of interest. Current selection techniques are laborious and do not allow for direct visualization of phage infection dynamics. Here, we present a method that circumvents these limitations. It can be scaled for high-throughput and permits monitoring of the phage infection in real time via a fluorescence signal readout. This is achieved through the use of a membrane-impermeant nucleic acid dye that stains the DNA of damaged or lysed bacteria and new phage progeny. We have tested the method on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae and show that an increase in fluorescence reflects phage-mediated killing. This is confirmed by other techniques including spot tests, colony plating, flow cytometry and metabolic activity measurements. Furthermore, we illustrate how our method may be used to compare the activity of different phages and to screen the susceptibility of clinical isolates to phage. Altogether, we present a fast, reliable way of selecting phages against Gram-negative bacteria, which may be valuable in optimizing the process of selecting phages for therapeutic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia E Egido
- Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Catherine Toner-Bartelds
- Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ana Rita Costa
- Department of Bionanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
- Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft, The Netherlands
- Fagenbank, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Stan J J Brouns
- Department of Bionanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
- Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft, The Netherlands
- Fagenbank, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Suzan H M Rooijakkers
- Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bart W Bardoel
- Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Pieter-Jan Haas
- Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Patpatia S, Schaedig E, Dirks A, Paasonen L, Skurnik M, Kiljunen S. Rapid hydrogel-based phage susceptibility test for pathogenic bacteria. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1032052. [PMID: 36569196 PMCID: PMC9771388 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1032052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Phage therapy is one alternative to cure infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. Due to the narrow host range of phages, hundreds to thousands of phages are required to cover the diversity of bacterial pathogens. In personalized phage therapy, fast selection of the phages for individual patients is essential for successful therapy. The aims of this study were to set up a rapid hydrogel-based liquid phage susceptibility assay (PST) for the selection of phages for therapeutic use and to establish a "ready-to-screen" plate concept, where phages are readily stored in hydrogel as small droplets in microtiter plate wells. We first tested four commercially available hydrogels (GrowDex, Askina, Purilon, and Intrasite) for their suitability as phage matrices in PSTs with four phages, two of which infecting Escherichia coli and two Staphylococcus aureus. Of these four hydrogels, GrowDex was the best matrix for PST, as it did not inhibit bacterial growth, released phages quickly when mixed with bacterial culture, and maintained phage viability well. We then optimized the assay for both optical density and microscopy readers using GrowDex as matrix with 23 bacterial strains representing 10 different species and 23 phages possessing different morphologies and genome sizes. When the bacterial growth was monitored by microscopy reader, the PST was executed in just 3 hours, and there was no need for overnight culturing bacterial cells prior to the assay, whereas using optical density reader, bacteria had to be pre-cultured overnight, and the assay time was five hours. Finally, we evaluated the effect of three different chemical stabilizers (trehalose, hyaluronic acid, and gelatin) in a six-month stability assay with six model phages. These phages assay behaved very differently in respect to the chemical stabilizers, and there was not a single stabilizer suitable for all phages. However, when gelatin (0.01%) or hyaluronic acid (0.2 mg/ml) was used as stabilizer, all tested phages were still considered as positives in PST after a six-month storage in 1 ml volume. In "ready-to-screen" plates, the differences in phage stabilities were even more profound, varying from two to six months for the most and least stable phages, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheetal Patpatia
- Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Eric Schaedig
- Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anna Dirks
- Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Mikael Skurnik
- Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Division of Clinical Microbiology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Saija Kiljunen
- Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Division of Clinical Microbiology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland,*Correspondence: Saija Kiljunen,
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Daubie V, Chalhoub H, Blasdel B, Dahma H, Merabishvili M, Glonti T, De Vos N, Quintens J, Pirnay JP, Hallin M, Vandenberg O. Determination of phage susceptibility as a clinical diagnostic tool: A routine perspective. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1000721. [PMID: 36211951 PMCID: PMC9532704 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1000721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As the global burden of disease caused by multidrug resistant bacteria is a major source of concern, credible clinical alternatives to antibiotic therapy, such as personalized phage therapy, are actively explored. Although phage therapy has been used for more than a century, the issue of an easy to implement diagnostic tool for determining phage susceptibility that meets current routine clinical needs is still open. In this Review, we summarize the existing methods used for determining phage activity on bacteria, including the three reference methods: the spot test, the double agar overlay plaque assay, and the Appelmans method. The first two methods rely on the principle of challenging the overnight growth of a lawn of bacteria in an agar matrix to a known relative phage to bacteria concentration and represent good screening tools to determine if the tested phage can be used for a “passive” and or “active” treatment. Beside these methods, several techniques, based on “real-time” growth kinetics assays (GKA) have been developed or are under development. They all monitor the growth of clinical isolates in the presence of phages, but use various detection methods, from classical optical density to more sophisticated techniques such as computer-assisted imagery, flow-cytometry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) or metabolic indicators. Practical considerations as well as information provided about phage activity are reviewed for each technique. Finally, we also discuss the analytical and interpretative requirements for the implementation of a phage susceptibility testing tool in routine clinical microbiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valéry Daubie
- Innovation and Business Development Unit, LHUB-ULB, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Microbiology, LHUB-ULB, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Houssein Chalhoub
- Innovation and Business Development Unit, LHUB-ULB, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Centre for Environmental Health and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bob Blasdel
- R&D department, Vesale Bioscience, Noville-sur-Mehaigne, Belgium
| | - Hafid Dahma
- Department of Microbiology, LHUB-ULB, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Maya Merabishvili
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Tea Glonti
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nathalie De Vos
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, LHUB-ULB, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Johan Quintens
- R&D department, Vesale Bioscience, Noville-sur-Mehaigne, Belgium
| | - Jean-Paul Pirnay
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marie Hallin
- Centre for Environmental Health and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Olivier Vandenberg
- Innovation and Business Development Unit, LHUB-ULB, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Centre for Environmental Health and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Olivier Vandenberg,
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Rendueles C, Escobedo S, Rodríguez A, Martínez B. Bacteriocin-phage interaction (BaPI): Phage predation of Lactococcus in the presence of bacteriocins. Microbiologyopen 2022; 11:e1308. [PMID: 36031956 PMCID: PMC9358928 DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.1308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages infecting dairy starter bacteria are a leading cause of milk fermentation failure and strategies to reduce the risk of phage infection in dairy settings are demanded. Along with dairy starters, bacteriocin producers (protective cultures) or the direct addition of bacteriocins as biopreservatives may be applied in food to extend shelf-life. In this work, we have studied the progress of infection of Lactococcus cremoris MG1363 by the phage sk1, in the presence of three bacteriocins with different modes of action: nisin, lactococcin A (LcnA), and lactococcin 972 (Lcn972). We aimed to reveal putative bacteriocin-phage interactions (BaPI) that could be detrimental and increase the risk of fermentation failure due to phages. Based on infections in broth and solid media, a synergistic effect was observed with Lcn972. This positive sk1-Lcn972 interaction could be correlated with an increased burst size. sk1-Lcn972 BaPI occurred independently of a functional SOS and cell envelope stress response but was lost in the absence of the major autolysin AcmA. Furthermore, BaPI was not exclusive to the sk1-Lcn972 pairing and could be observed with other phages and lactococcal strains. Therefore, bacteriocins may facilitate phage predation of dairy lactococci and their use should be carefully evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Rendueles
- Department Technology and Biotechnology of Dairy ProductsInstituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA), CSICVillaviciosaAsturiasSpain
| | - Susana Escobedo
- Department Technology and Biotechnology of Dairy ProductsInstituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA), CSICVillaviciosaAsturiasSpain
| | - Ana Rodríguez
- Department Technology and Biotechnology of Dairy ProductsInstituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA), CSICVillaviciosaAsturiasSpain
| | - Beatriz Martínez
- Department Technology and Biotechnology of Dairy ProductsInstituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA), CSICVillaviciosaAsturiasSpain
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Paillet T, Lossouarn J, Figueroa C, Midoux C, Rué O, Petit MA, Dugat-Bony E. Virulent Phages Isolated from a Smear-Ripened Cheese Are Also Detected in Reservoirs of the Cheese Factory. Viruses 2022; 14:1620. [PMID: 35893685 PMCID: PMC9331655 DOI: 10.3390/v14081620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Smear-ripened cheeses host complex microbial communities that play a crucial role in the ripening process. Although bacteriophages have been frequently isolated from dairy products, their diversity and ecological role in such this type of cheese remain underexplored. In order to fill this gap, the main objective of this study was to isolate and characterize bacteriophages from the rind of a smear-ripened cheese. Thus, viral particles extracted from the cheese rind were tested through a spot assay against a collection of bacteria isolated from the same cheese and identified by sequencing the full-length small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. In total, five virulent bacteriophages infecting Brevibacterium aurantiacum, Glutamicibacter arilaitensis, Leuconostoc falkenbergense and Psychrobacter aquimaris species were obtained. All exhibit a narrow host range, being only able to infect a few cheese-rind isolates within the same species. The complete genome of each phage was sequenced using both Nanopore and Illumina technologies, assembled and annotated. A sequence comparison with known phages revealed that four of them may represent at least new genera. The distribution of the five virulent phages into the dairy-plant environment was also investigated by PCR, and three potential reservoirs were identified. This work provides new knowledge on the cheese rind viral community and an overview of the distribution of phages within a cheese factory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Paillet
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France; (T.P.); (C.F.)
| | - Julien Lossouarn
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Micalis Institute, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas, France; (J.L.); (M.-A.P.)
| | - Clarisse Figueroa
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France; (T.P.); (C.F.)
| | - Cédric Midoux
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, MaIAGE, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France; (C.M.); (O.R.)
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, BioinfOmics, MIGALE Bioinformatics Facility, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, PROSE, 92761 Antony, France
| | - Olivier Rué
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, MaIAGE, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France; (C.M.); (O.R.)
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, BioinfOmics, MIGALE Bioinformatics Facility, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Marie-Agnès Petit
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Micalis Institute, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas, France; (J.L.); (M.-A.P.)
| | - Eric Dugat-Bony
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France; (T.P.); (C.F.)
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Doss JH, Barekzi N, Gauthier DT. Improving high-throughput techniques for bacteriophage discovery in multi-well plates. METHODS IN MICROBIOLOGY 2022; 200:106542. [PMID: 35882287 DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2022.106542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriophages (also called phages) are viruses of bacteria that have numerous applications in medicine, agriculture, ecology, and molecular biology. With the increasing interest in phages for their many uses, it is now especially important to make phage discovery more efficient and economical. Using the host Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155, which is a model organism for phage discovery research and is closely related to important pathogens of humans and other animals, we investigated three procedures that are an integral part of phage discovery: enrichment of environmental samples, phage isolation and detection (which can also be used for host range determination), and phage purification. Enrichment in 6-well plates was successful with most environmental samples, and enrichment in 24- and 96-well plates was successful with some environmental samples, demonstrating that larger sample volumes are preferred when possible, but smaller sample volumes may be acceptable if the starting concentration of phages is sufficiently high. Measuring absorbance in multi-well plates was at least as sensitive as the traditional plaque assay for the detection of phages. We also demonstrated a technique for the purification of single phage types from mixed cultures in liquid medium. Multi-well techniques can be used as alternatives or complementary approaches to traditional methods of phage discovery and characterization depending on the needs of the researcher in terms of time, available resources, host species, phage-bacteria matches, and specific goals. In the future, these techniques could be applied to the discovery of phages of aquatic mycobacteria and other hosts for which few phages have currently been isolated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janis H Doss
- The Association of Public Health Laboratories, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
| | - Nazir Barekzi
- Department of Biology, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
| | - David T Gauthier
- Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
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Michodigni NF, Nyachieo A, Akhwale JK, Magoma G, Ouédraogo AS, Kimang'a AN. Formulation of phage cocktails and evaluation of their interaction with antibiotics in inhibiting carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in vitro in Kenya. Afr J Lab Med 2022; 11:1803. [PMID: 35937762 PMCID: PMC9350486 DOI: 10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The development of alternative control measures, such as phage therapy or adjunctive therapy, is urgently needed to manage the dissemination of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of formulated phage cocktails and their interaction with select antibiotics in inhibiting the growth of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae clinical isolate in vitro in Kenya. Methods The study was conducted from February 2021 to October 2021 at the Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya. Phage cocktails were formulated based on the morphology and biological properties of precipitated Klebsiella phages. The efficacy of individual bacteriophages and phage cocktails as well as their combination with antibiotics were determined for their inhibitory activity on carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (KP20). Results The precipitated bacteriophages were members of Myoviridae, Siphoviridae and Podoviridae. Regarding the evaluation of the phage cocktails, the absorbances at 600 nm of the bacterial culture treated with the two-phage cocktail (2φ MA) ranged from 0.173 to 0.246 at 16 h and 20 h whereas it peaked from 2.116 to 2.190 for the positive control. Moreover, the results of the adjunctive therapy showed that the optical density at 600 nm of the bacterial culture treated with 2φ MA was 0.186 at 24 h post-incubation time while it was 0.099 with the bacterial culture treated with imipenem in combination with 2φ MA. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the two-phage cocktail in combination with imipenem was able to synergistically delay the increase in carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae growth in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noutin F Michodigni
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Pan African University Institute for Basic Sciences Technology and Innovation (PAUSTI), Nairobi, Kenya
- Department of Reproductive Health and Biology, Institute of Primate Research (IPR), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Atunga Nyachieo
- Department of Reproductive Health and Biology, Institute of Primate Research (IPR), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Juliah K Akhwale
- Department of Zoology, School of Biological Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Gabriel Magoma
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Pan African University Institute for Basic Sciences Technology and Innovation (PAUSTI), Nairobi, Kenya
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Health Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Abdoul-Salam Ouédraogo
- Department of Medical Microbiology Laboratories, Souro-Sanou Teaching Hospital, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
| | - Andrew N Kimang'a
- Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Health Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya
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Glonti T, Pirnay JP. In Vitro Techniques and Measurements of Phage Characteristics That Are Important for Phage Therapy Success. Viruses 2022; 14:1490. [PMID: 35891470 PMCID: PMC9323186 DOI: 10.3390/v14071490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Validated methods for phage selection, host range expansion, and lytic activity determination are indispensable for maximizing phage therapy outcomes. In this review, we describe some relevant methods, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages, and categorize them as preliminary or confirmatory methods where appropriate. Experimental conditions, such as the composition and consistency of culture media, have an impact on bacterial growth and, consequently, phage propagation and the selection of phage-resistant mutants. The phages require different experimental conditions to be tested to fully reveal their characteristics and phage therapy potential in view of their future use in therapy. Phage lytic activity or virulence should be considered as a result of the phage, its host, and intracellular/environmental factors, including the ability of a phage to recognize receptors on the bacterial cell surface. In vitro quantitative and qualitative measurements of phage characteristics, further validated by in vivo experiments, could be incorporated into one system or mathematical model/formula, which could predict a potential successful outcome of clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tea Glonti
- Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, B-1120 Brussels, Belgium;
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36
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The use of bacteriophage-based edible coatings for the biocontrol of Salmonella in strawberries. Food Control 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.108812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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Harimoto T, Hahn J, Chen YY, Im J, Zhang J, Hou N, Li F, Coker C, Gray K, Harr N, Chowdhury S, Pu K, Nimura C, Arpaia N, Leong KW, Danino T. A programmable encapsulation system improves delivery of therapeutic bacteria in mice. Nat Biotechnol 2022; 40:1259-1269. [PMID: 35301496 PMCID: PMC9371971 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01244-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Living bacteria therapies have been proposed as an alternative approach to treating a broad array of cancers. In this study, we developed a genetically encoded microbial encapsulation system with tunable and dynamic expression of surface capsular polysaccharides that enhances systemic delivery. Based on a small RNA screen of capsular biosynthesis pathways, we constructed inducible synthetic gene circuits that regulate bacterial encapsulation in Escherichia coli Nissle 1917. These bacteria are capable of temporarily evading immune attack, whereas subsequent loss of encapsulation results in effective clearance in vivo. This dynamic delivery strategy enabled a ten-fold increase in maximum tolerated dose of bacteria and improved anti-tumor efficacy in murine models of cancer. Furthermore, in situ encapsulation increased the fraction of microbial translocation among mouse tumors, leading to efficacy in distal tumors. The programmable encapsulation system promises to enhance the therapeutic utility of living engineered bacteria for cancer. Transient capsule induction allows engineered bacteria to evade initial immune surveillance in a colorectal cancer model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuhiro Harimoto
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jaeseung Hahn
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yu-Yu Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jongwon Im
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joanna Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nicholas Hou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Fangda Li
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Courtney Coker
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kelsey Gray
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nicole Harr
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sreyan Chowdhury
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kelly Pu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Clare Nimura
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nicholas Arpaia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kam W Leong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. .,Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Tal Danino
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. .,Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. .,Data Science Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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38
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Steffan SM, Shakeri G, Kehrenberg C, Peh E, Rohde M, Plötz M, Kittler S. Campylobacter Bacteriophage Cocktail Design Based on an Advanced Selection Scheme. Antibiotics (Basel) 2022; 11:228. [PMID: 35203830 PMCID: PMC8868561 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11020228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Campylobacteriosis is a worldwide-occurring disease and has been the most commonly reported zoonotic gastrointestinal infection in the European Union in recent years. The development of successful phage-based intervention strategies will require a better understanding of phage-bacteria interactions to facilitate advances in phage cocktail design. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of newly isolated group II and group III phages and their combinations on current Campylobacter field strains. A continuous workflow for host range and efficiency of plating (EOP) value determination was combined with a qPCR-based phage group identification and a liquid-based planktonic killing assay (PKA). An advanced analysis scheme allowed us to evaluate phage cocktails by their efficacy in inhibiting bacterial population growth and the resulting phage concentrations. The results of this study indicate that data obtained from PKAs are more accurate than host range data based on plaque formation (EOP). Planktonic killing assays with Campylobacter appear to be a useful tool for a straightforward cocktail design. Results show that a group II phage vB_CcM-LmqsCP218-2c2 and group III phage vB_CjM-LmqsCP1-1 mixture would be most promising for practical applications against Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni.
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Affiliation(s)
- Severin Michael Steffan
- Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173 Hannover, Germany; (S.M.S.); (E.P.); (M.P.)
| | - Golshan Shakeri
- Department of Food Hygiene and Aquaculture, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Azadi Square, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran;
| | - Corinna Kehrenberg
- Institute for Veterinary Food Science, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Frankfurter Straße 92, 35392 Giessen, Germany;
| | - Elisa Peh
- Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173 Hannover, Germany; (S.M.S.); (E.P.); (M.P.)
| | - Manfred Rohde
- Central Facility for Microscopy, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research GmbH, Inhoffenstraße 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany;
| | - Madeleine Plötz
- Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173 Hannover, Germany; (S.M.S.); (E.P.); (M.P.)
| | - Sophie Kittler
- Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173 Hannover, Germany; (S.M.S.); (E.P.); (M.P.)
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39
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Jang HB, Chittick L, Li YF, Zablocki O, Sanderson CM, Carrillo A, van den Engh G, Sullivan MB. Viral tag and grow: a scalable approach to capture and characterize infectious virus-host pairs. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2022; 2:12. [PMID: 37938680 PMCID: PMC9723727 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-022-00093-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
Viral metagenomics (viromics) has reshaped our understanding of DNA viral diversity, ecology, and evolution across Earth's ecosystems. However, viromics now needs approaches to link newly discovered viruses to their host cells and characterize them at scale. This study adapts one such method, sequencing-enabled viral tagging (VT), to establish "Viral Tag and Grow" (VT + Grow) to rapidly capture and characterize viruses that infect a cultivated target bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas. First, baseline cytometric and microscopy data improved understanding of how infection conditions and host physiology impact populations in VT flow cytograms. Next, we extensively evaluated "and grow" capability to assess where VT signals reflect adsorption alone or wholly successful infections that lead to lysis. Third, we applied VT + Grow to a clonal virus stock, which, coupled to traditional plaque assays, revealed significant variability in burst size-findings that hint at a viral "individuality" parallel to the microbial phenotypic heterogeneity literature. Finally, we established a live protocol for public comment and improvement via protocols.io to maximally empower the research community. Together these efforts provide a robust foundation for VT researchers, and establish VT + Grow as a promising scalable technology to capture and characterize viruses from mixed community source samples that infect cultivable bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ho Bin Jang
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Lauren Chittick
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Yueh-Fen Li
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Olivier Zablocki
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Alfonso Carrillo
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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40
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Steffan SM, Shakeri G, Hammerl JA, Kehrenberg C, Peh E, Rohde M, Jackel C, Plotz M, Kittler S. Isolation and Characterization of Group III Campylobacter jejuni-Specific Bacteriophages From Germany and Their Suitability for Use in Food Production. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:761223. [PMID: 34956123 PMCID: PMC8696038 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.761223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Campylobacter spp. are a major cause of bacterial foodborne diarrhea worldwide. While thermophilic Campylobacter species asymptomatically colonize the intestines of chickens, most human infections in industrial countries have been attributed to consumption of chicken meat or cross-contaminated products. Bacteriophages (phages) are natural predators of bacteria and their use at different stages of the food production chain has been shown to reduce the public health burden of human campylobacteriosis. However, regarding regulatory issues, the use of lytic phages in food is still under discussion and evaluation. This study aims to identify lytic phages suitable for reducing Campylobacter bacteria along the food production chain. Therefore, four of 19 recently recovered phages were further characterized in detail for their lytic efficacy against different Campylobacter field strains and their suitability under food production settings at different temperatures and pH values. Based on the results of this study, the phages vB_CjM-LmqsCP1-4 and vB_CjM-LmqsCP1-5 appear to be promising candidates for the reduction of Campylobacter jejuni in food production settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Severin Michael Steffan
- Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, Foundation University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hanover, Germany
| | - Golshan Shakeri
- Department of Food Hygiene and Aquaculture, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Jens Andre Hammerl
- Department Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany
| | - Corinna Kehrenberg
- Institute for Veterinary Food Science, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Elisa Peh
- Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, Foundation University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hanover, Germany
| | - Manfred Rohde
- Central Facility for Microscopy, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Claudia Jackel
- Department Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany
| | - Madeleine Plotz
- Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, Foundation University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hanover, Germany
| | - Sophie Kittler
- Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, Foundation University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hanover, Germany
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41
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Sørensen PE, Baig S, Stegger M, Ingmer H, Garmyn A, Butaye P. Spontaneous Phage Resistance in Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:782757. [PMID: 34966369 PMCID: PMC8711792 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.782757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is one of the most important bacterial pathogens affecting poultry worldwide. The emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens has renewed the interest in the therapeutic use of bacteriophages (phages). However, a major concern for the successful implementation of phage therapy is the emergence of phage-resistant mutants. The understanding of the phage-host interactions, as well as underlying mechanisms of resistance, have shown to be essential for the development of a successful phage therapy. Here, we demonstrate that the strictly lytic Escherichia phage vB_EcoM-P10 rapidly selected for resistance in the APEC ST95 O1 strain AM621. Whole-genome sequence analysis of 109 spontaneous phage-resistant mutant strains revealed 41 mutants with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in their core genome. In 32 of these, a single SNP was detected while two SNPs were identified in a total of nine strains. In total, 34 unique SNPs were detected. In 42 strains, including 18 strains with SNP(s), gene losses spanning 17 different genes were detected. Affected by genetic changes were genes known to be involved in phage resistance (outer membrane protein A, lipopolysaccharide-, O- antigen-, or cell wall-related genes) as well as genes not previously linked to phage resistance, including two hypothetical genes. In several strains, we did not detect any genetic changes. Infecting phages were not able to overcome the phage resistance in host strains. However, interestingly the initial infection was shown to have a great fitness cost for several mutant strains, with up to ∼65% decrease in overall growth. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the phage-host interaction and phage resistance in APEC. Although acquired resistance to phages is frequently observed in pathogenic E. coli, it may be associated with loss of fitness, which could be exploited in phage therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia E. Sørensen
- Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
| | - Sharmin Baig
- Department of Bacteria, Parasites and Fungi, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marc Stegger
- Department of Bacteria, Parasites and Fungi, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hanne Ingmer
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - An Garmyn
- Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Patrick Butaye
- Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
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42
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Sørensen PE, Ng DYK, Duchateau L, Ingmer H, Garmyn A, Butaye P. Classification of In Vitro Phage-Host Population Growth Dynamics. Microorganisms 2021; 9:2470. [PMID: 34946072 PMCID: PMC8708399 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9122470] [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: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The therapeutic use of bacteriophages (phage therapy) represents a promising alternative to antibiotics to control bacterial pathogens. However, the understanding of the phage-bacterium interactions and population dynamics seems essential for successful phage therapy implementation. Here, we investigated the effect of three factors: phage species (18 lytic E. coli-infecting phages); bacterial strain (10 APEC strains); and multiplicity of infection (MOI) (MOI 10, 1, and 0.1) on the bacterial growth dynamics. All factors had a significant effect, but the phage appeared to be the most important. The results showed seven distinct growth patterns. The first pattern corresponded to the normal bacterial growth pattern in the absence of a phage. The second pattern was complete bacterial killing. The remaining patterns were in-between, characterised by delayed growth and/or variable killing of the bacterial cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the phage-host dynamics is an important factor in the capacity of a phage to eliminate bacteria. The classified patterns show that this is an essential factor to consider when developing a phage therapy. This methodology can be used to rapidly screen for novel phage candidates for phage therapy. Accordingly, the most promising candidates were phages found in Group 2, characterised by growth dynamics with high bacterial killing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia E. Sørensen
- Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium; (A.G.); (P.B.)
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre 42123, Saint Kitts and Nevis
| | - Duncan Y. K. Ng
- Department of Bacteria, Parasites and Fungi, Statens Serum Institut, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark;
| | - Luc Duchateau
- Biometrics Research Center, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium;
| | - Hanne Ingmer
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, Denmark;
| | - An Garmyn
- Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium; (A.G.); (P.B.)
| | - Patrick Butaye
- Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium; (A.G.); (P.B.)
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre 42123, Saint Kitts and Nevis
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43
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Danis-Wlodarczyk KM, Cai A, Chen A, Gittrich MR, Sullivan MB, Wozniak DJ, Abedon ST. Friends or Foes? Rapid Determination of Dissimilar Colistin and Ciprofloxacin Antagonism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Phages. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:1162. [PMID: 34832944 PMCID: PMC8624478 DOI: 10.3390/ph14111162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Phage therapy is a century-old technique employing viruses (phages) to treat bacterial infections, and in the clinic it is often used in combination with antibiotics. Antibiotics, however, interfere with critical bacterial metabolic activities that can be required by phages. Explicit testing of antibiotic antagonism of phage infection activities, though, is not a common feature of phage therapy studies. Here we use optical density-based 'lysis-profile' assays to assess the impact of two antibiotics, colistin and ciprofloxacin, on the bactericidal, bacteriolytic, and new-virion-production activities of three Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages. Though phages and antibiotics in combination are more potent in killing P. aeruginosa than either acting alone, colistin nevertheless substantially interferes with phage bacteriolytic and virion-production activities even at its minimum inhibitory concentration (1× MIC). Ciprofloxacin, by contrast, has little anti-phage impact at 1× or 3× MIC. We corroborate these results with more traditional measures, particularly colony-forming units, plaque-forming units, and one-step growth experiments. Our results suggest that ciprofloxacin could be useful as a concurrent phage therapy co-treatment especially when phage replication is required for treatment success. Lysis-profile assays also appear to be useful, fast, and high-throughput means of assessing antibiotic antagonism of phage infection activities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alice Cai
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (A.C.); (A.C.); (M.R.G.); (M.B.S.)
| | - Anna Chen
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (A.C.); (A.C.); (M.R.G.); (M.B.S.)
| | - Marissa R. Gittrich
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (A.C.); (A.C.); (M.R.G.); (M.B.S.)
| | - Matthew B. Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (A.C.); (A.C.); (M.R.G.); (M.B.S.)
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Daniel J. Wozniak
- Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (A.C.); (A.C.); (M.R.G.); (M.B.S.)
| | - Stephen T. Abedon
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (A.C.); (A.C.); (M.R.G.); (M.B.S.)
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44
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Martinez-Soto CE, Cucić S, Lin JT, Kirst S, Mahmoud ES, Khursigara CM, Anany H. PHIDA: A High Throughput Turbidimetric Data Analytic Tool to Compare Host Range Profiles of Bacteriophages Isolated Using Different Enrichment Methods. Viruses 2021; 13:2120. [PMID: 34834927 PMCID: PMC8623551 DOI: 10.3390/v13112120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and are present in niches where bacteria thrive. In recent years, the suggested application areas of lytic bacteriophage have been expanded to include therapy, biocontrol, detection, sanitation, and remediation. However, phage application is constrained by the phage's host range-the range of bacterial hosts sensitive to the phage and the degree of infection. Even though phage isolation and enrichment techniques are straightforward protocols, the correlation between the enrichment technique and host range profile has not been evaluated. Agar-based methods such as spotting assay and efficiency of plaquing (EOP) are the most used methods to determine the phage host range. These methods, aside from being labor intensive, can lead to subjective and incomplete results as they rely on qualitative observations of the lysis/plaques, do not reflect the lytic activity in liquid culture, and can overestimate the host range. In this study, phages against three bacterial genera were isolated using three different enrichment methods. Host range profiles of the isolated phages were quantitatively determined using a high throughput turbidimetric protocol and the data were analyzed with an accessible analytic tool "PHIDA". Using this tool, the host ranges of 9 Listeria, 14 Salmonella, and 20 Pseudomonas phages isolated with different enrichment methods were quantitatively compared. A high variability in the host range index (HRi) ranging from 0.86-0.63, 0.07-0.24, and 0.00-0.67 for Listeria, Salmonella, and Pseudomonas phages, respectively, was observed. Overall, no direct correlation was found between the phage host range breadth and the enrichment method in any of the three target bacterial genera. The high throughput method and analytics tool developed in this study can be easily adapted to any phage study and can provide a consensus for phage host range determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos E. Martinez-Soto
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON N1G 5C9, Canada; (C.E.M.-S.); (S.C.); (J.T.L.); (S.K.); (C.M.K.)
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Stevan Cucić
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON N1G 5C9, Canada; (C.E.M.-S.); (S.C.); (J.T.L.); (S.K.); (C.M.K.)
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Janet T. Lin
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON N1G 5C9, Canada; (C.E.M.-S.); (S.C.); (J.T.L.); (S.K.); (C.M.K.)
| | - Sarah Kirst
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON N1G 5C9, Canada; (C.E.M.-S.); (S.C.); (J.T.L.); (S.K.); (C.M.K.)
| | - El Sayed Mahmoud
- Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, The Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Oakville, ON L6H 2L1, Canada;
| | - Cezar M. Khursigara
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON N1G 5C9, Canada; (C.E.M.-S.); (S.C.); (J.T.L.); (S.K.); (C.M.K.)
| | - Hany Anany
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON N1G 5C9, Canada; (C.E.M.-S.); (S.C.); (J.T.L.); (S.K.); (C.M.K.)
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
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45
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Ng RN, Grey LJ, Vaitekenas A, McLean SA, Rudrum JD, Laucirica DR, Poh MWP, Hillas J, Winslow SG, Iszatt JJ, Iosifidis T, Tai AS, Agudelo-Romero P, Chang BJ, Stick SM, Kicic A. Development and validation of a miniaturized bacteriophage host range screening assay against antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Microbiol Methods 2021; 190:106346. [PMID: 34637818 DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2021.106346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is a current global health crisis, and the increasing emergence of multidrug resistant infections has led to the resurgent interest in bacteriophages as an alternative treatment. Prior to clinical application, phage suitability is assessed, via susceptibility testing and breadth of host range to bacteriophage, however, these are both large-scale manual processes and labor-intensive. The aim of the study was to establish and validate a scaled down methodology for high-throughput screening to reduce procedural footprint. In this paper, we describe a scaled-down adapted methodology that can successfully screen bacteriophages, isolated and purified from wastewater samples. Furthermore, we describe a miniaturized host range assay against clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates using a spot test (2 μL/ drop) that was found to be both sensitive (94.6%) and specific (94.7%). It also demonstrated a positive predictive value (PPV) of 86.4% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 98%. The breadth of host range of bacteriophages that exhibited lytic activity on P. aeruginosa isolates was corroborated using the scaled down assay. The high correlation achieved in this study confirms miniaturization as the first step in future automation that could test phage diversity and efficacy as antimicrobials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renee Nicole Ng
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Lucinda Jane Grey
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Andrew Vaitekenas
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Samantha Abagail McLean
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jack Dylan Rudrum
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Daniel Rodolfo Laucirica
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Medical School, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Matthew Wee-Peng Poh
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Medical School, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jessica Hillas
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Scott Glenn Winslow
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Joshua James Iszatt
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Thomas Iosifidis
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, The University of Western Australia, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Anna Sze Tai
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Institute for Respiratory Health, School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Patricia Agudelo-Romero
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Barbara Jane Chang
- The Marshall Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Training, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Stephen Michael Stick
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Perth Children's Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, The University of Western Australia, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Anthony Kicic
- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Perth Children's Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, The University of Western Australia, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
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- Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Center, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Perth Children's Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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46
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Abedon ST, Danis-Wlodarczyk KM, Wozniak DJ. Phage Cocktail Development for Bacteriophage Therapy: Toward Improving Spectrum of Activity Breadth and Depth. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:1019. [PMID: 34681243 PMCID: PMC8541335 DOI: 10.3390/ph14101019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Phage therapy is the use of bacterial viruses as antibacterial agents. A primary consideration for commercial development of phages for phage therapy is the number of different bacterial strains that are successfully targeted, as this defines the breadth of a phage cocktail's spectrum of activity. Alternatively, phage cocktails may be used to reduce the potential for bacteria to evolve phage resistance. This, as we consider here, is in part a function of a cocktail's 'depth' of activity. Improved cocktail depth is achieved through inclusion of at least two phages able to infect a single bacterial strain, especially two phages against which bacterial mutation to cross resistance is relatively rare. Here, we consider the breadth of activity of phage cocktails while taking both depth of activity and bacterial mutation to cross resistance into account. This is done by building on familiar algorithms normally used for determination solely of phage cocktail breadth of activity. We show in particular how phage cocktails for phage therapy may be rationally designed toward enhancing the number of bacteria impacted while also reducing the potential for a subset of those bacteria to evolve phage resistance, all as based on previously determined phage properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen T. Abedon
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;
| | | | - Daniel J. Wozniak
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;
- Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;
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Gelman D, Yerushalmy O, Alkalay-Oren S, Rakov C, Ben-Porat S, Khalifa L, Adler K, Abdalrhman M, Coppenhagen-Glazer S, Aslam S, Schooley RT, Nir-Paz R, Hazan R. Clinical Phage Microbiology: a suggested framework and recommendations for the in-vitro matching steps of phage therapy. THE LANCET MICROBE 2021; 2:e555-e563. [DOI: 10.1016/s2666-5247(21)00127-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
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48
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Koonjan S, Cooper CJ, Nilsson AS. Complete Genome Sequence of vB_EcoP_SU7, a Podoviridae Coliphage with the Rare C3 Morphotype. Microorganisms 2021; 9:1576. [PMID: 34442655 PMCID: PMC8399022 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9081576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains are an important cause of bacterial diarrheal illness in humans and animals. Infections arising from ETEC could potentially be treated through the use of bacteriophage (phage) therapy, as phages encode for enzymes capable of bacterial cell lysis. vB_EcoP_SU7 was isolated from the Käppala wastewater treatment plant in Stockholm, Sweden, and propagated on an ETEC strain exhibiting the O:139 serovar. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that vB_EcoP_SU7 belongs to the Podoviridae family and has the rare C3 morphotype of an elongated head. Bioinformatic analyses showed that the genome was 76,626 base pairs long and contained 35 genes with predicted functions. A total of 81 open reading frames encoding proteins with hypothetical function and two encoding proteins of no significant similarity were also found. A putative tRNA gene, which may aid in vB_EcoP_SU7's translation, was also identified. Phylogenetic analyses showed that compared to other Podoviridae, vB_EcoP_SU7 is a rare Kuravirus and is closely related to E. coli phages with the uncommon C3 morphotype, such as ECBP2, EK010, vB_EcoP_EcoN5, and vB_EcoP_SU10. Phage vB_EcoP_SU7 has a narrow host range, infecting 11 out of the 137 E. coli strains tested, a latency period of 30 min, a burst size of 12 PFU/cell, and an adsorption rate of 8.78 × 10-9 mL/min five minutes post infection. With a limited host range and poor infection kinetics, it is unlikely that SU7 can be a standalone phage used for therapeutic purposes; rather, it must be used in combination with other phages for broad-spectrum therapeutic success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shazeeda Koonjan
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden;
| | - Callum J. Cooper
- School of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland, Sunderland SR13SD, UK;
| | - Anders S. Nilsson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden;
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49
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Comparative Genomics of Three Novel Jumbo Bacteriophages Infecting Staphylococcus aureus. J Virol 2021; 95:e0239120. [PMID: 34287047 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02391-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The majority of previously described Staphylococcus aureus bacteriophages belong to three major groups: P68-like podophages, Twort-like or K-like myophages, and a more diverse group of temperate siphophages. Here we present three novel S. aureus "jumbo" phages: MarsHill, Madawaska, and Machias. These phages were isolated from swine production environments in the United States and represent a novel clade of S. aureus myophage. The average genome size for these phages is ∼269 kb with each genome encoding ∼263 predicted protein-coding genes. Phage genome organization and content is similar to known jumbo phages of Bacillus, including AR9 and vB_BpuM-BpSp. All three phages possess genes encoding complete virion and non-virion RNA polymerases, multiple homing endonucleases, and a retron-like reverse transcriptase. Like AR9, all of these phages are presumed to have uracil-substituted DNA which interferes with DNA sequencing. These phages are also able to transduce host plasmids, which is significant as these phages were found circulating in swine production environments and can also infect human S. aureus isolates. Importance of work: This study describes the comparative genomics of three novel S. aureus jumbo phages: MarsHill, Madawaska, and Machias. These three S. aureus myophages represent an emerging class of S. aureus phage. These genomes contain abundant introns which show a pattern consistent with repeated acquisition rather than vertical inheritance, suggesting intron acquisition and loss is an active process in the evolution of these phages. These phages have presumably hypermodified DNA which inhibits sequencing by several different common platforms. Therefore, these phages also represent potential genomic diversity that has been missed due to the limitations of standard sequencing techniques. In particular, such hypermodified genomes may be missed by metagenomic studies due to their resistance to standard sequencing techniques. Phage MarsHill was found to be able to transduce host DNA at levels comparable to that found for other transducing S. aureus phages, making them a potential vector for horizontal gene transfer in the environment.
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50
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Xie Y, Thompson T, O'Leary C, Crosby S, Nguyen QX, Liu M, Gill JJ. Differential Bacteriophage Efficacy in Controlling Salmonella in Cattle Hide and Soil Models. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:657524. [PMID: 34262535 PMCID: PMC8273493 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.657524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Asymptomatic Salmonella carriage in beef cattle is a food safety concern and the beef feedlot environment and cattle hides are reservoirs of this pathogen. Bacteriophages present an attractive non-antibiotic strategy for control of Salmonella in beef. In this study, four diverse and genetically unrelated Salmonella phages, Sergei, Season12, Sw2, and Munch, were characterized and tested alone and in combination for their ability to control Salmonella in cattle hide and soil systems, which are relevant models for Salmonella control in beef production. Phage Sergei is a member of the genus Sashavirus, phage Season12 was identified as a member of the Chivirus genus, Sw2 was identified as a member of the T5-like Epseptimavirus genus, and Munch was found to be a novel “jumbo” myovirus. Observed pathogen reductions in the model systems ranged from 0.50 to 1.75 log10 CFU/cm2 in hides and from 0.53 to 1.38 log10 CFU/g in soil, with phages Sergei and Sw2 producing greater reductions (∼1 log10 CFU/cm2 or CFU/g) than Season12 and Munch. These findings are in accordance with previous observations of phage virulence, suggesting the simple ability of a phage to form plaques on a bacterial strain is not a strong indicator of antimicrobial activity, but performance in liquid culture assays provides a better predictor. The antimicrobial efficacies of phage treatments were found to be phage-specific across model systems, implying that a phage capable of achieving bacterial reduction in one model is more likely to perform well in another. Phage combinations did not produce significantly greater efficacy than single phages even after 24 h in the soil model, and phage-insensitive colonies were not isolated from treated samples, suggesting that the emergence of phage resistance was not a major factor limiting efficacy in this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yicheng Xie
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States.,Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Tyler Thompson
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Chandler O'Leary
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Stephen Crosby
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Quang X Nguyen
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Mei Liu
- Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Jason J Gill
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States.,Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
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