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He P, Cao F, Qu Q, Geng H, Yang X, Xu T, Wang R, Jia X, Lu M, Zeng P, Luan G. Host range expansion of Acinetobacter phage vB_Ab4_Hep4 driven by a spontaneous tail tubular mutation. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2024; 14:1301089. [PMID: 38435308 PMCID: PMC10904470 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1301089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) represent promising alternative treatments against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB) infections. The application of phages as antibacterial agents is limited by their generally narrow host ranges, so changing or expanding the host ranges of phages is beneficial for phage therapy. Multiple studies have identified that phage tail fiber protein mediates the recognition and binding to the host as receptor binding protein in phage infection. However, the tail tubular-dependent host specificity of phages has not been studied well. In this study, we isolated and characterized a novel lytic phage, vB_Ab4_Hep4, specifically infecting MDRAB strains. Meanwhile, we identified a spontaneous mutant of the phage, vB_Ab4_Hep4-M, which revealed an expanded host range compared to the wild-type phage. A single mutation of G to C was detected in the gene encoding the phage tail tubular protein B and thus resulted in an aspartate to histidine change. We further demonstrated that the host range expansion of the phage mutant is driven by the spontaneous mutation of guanine to cytosine using expressed tail tubular protein B. Moreover, we established that the bacterial capsule is the receptor for phage Abp4 and Abp4-M by identifying mutant genes in phage-resistant strains. In conclusion, our study provided a detailed description of phage vB_Ab4_Hep4 and revealed the tail tubular-dependent host specificity in A. baumannii phages, which may provide new insights into extending the host ranges of phages by gene-modifying tail tubular proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penggang He
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Feng Cao
- Chengdu Phagetimes Biotech Co. Ltd, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Qianyu Qu
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Huaixin Geng
- Non-coding RNA and Drug Discovery Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xin Yang
- Non-coding RNA and Drug Discovery Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Tong Xu
- Chengdu Phagetimes Biotech Co. Ltd, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Rui Wang
- Non-coding RNA and Drug Discovery Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xu Jia
- Non-coding RNA and Drug Discovery Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Mao Lu
- Department of Dermatovenereology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Peibin Zeng
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Guangxin Luan
- Non-coding RNA and Drug Discovery Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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