Aim: This study was carried out in order to evaluate the potential of bacteriophages in controlling tomato bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. Study design: A purposive sampling technique was used...Aim: This study was carried out in order to evaluate the potential of bacteriophages in controlling tomato bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. Study design: A purposive sampling technique was used to collect samples from bacterial wilt hot spot tomato growing areas in Kenya. Place and duration of study: The research work was done at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, between June 2020 and July 2021. Methodology: Thirty diseased plants and corresponding soil were collected from five counties, Nyeri, Kajiado, Nyandarua, Kiambu and Taita Taveta. Bacteria were isolated and characterized, and then used as hosts to propagate the phages. Tests done were gram stain, oxidation test, potassium hydroxide solubility test, H2S production test catalase test, NaCl test and sugar fermentation test. Molecular analysis and phenotyping were also done in order to identify the bacteria. The bacteriophages were then isolated through a double overlay method using R. solanacearum as the host. They were characterized and assayed in a greenhouse setting to determine their effectiveness in controlling bacterial wilt. Results: Six host bacteria were isolated and all belonged to biovar II. Four phages were observed based on morphology. Upon characterization the phages were stable at 30˚C, PH range between 6 - 7 and tolerance of more than an hour under UV light. In the greenhouse experiment, treatment of plants with bacteriophage prevented wilting after subsequent inoculation with the pathogen. A bacteriophage mix of SN1 and WT1 were used for efficacy tests due to their efficiency in plating and infection. Phage SN1 and WT1 exhibited high lytic activity and relatively high thermotolerance and acid tolerance, thereby showing great potential in the biocontrol of bacterial wilt infection across a variety of conditions. Conclusion: The results obtained in this research show that bacteriophages offer potential for the biocontrol of bacterial wilt.展开更多
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...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.展开更多
In this study, bacteriophage of an antibiotic-resistant Escherchia coil strain isolated from feces of chicken was isolated. Its host range was determined by the method of spotting sample on monolayer agar, and its lys...In this study, bacteriophage of an antibiotic-resistant Escherchia coil strain isolated from feces of chicken was isolated. Its host range was determined by the method of spotting sample on monolayer agar, and its lysis titer, optimal multiplicity of infection （MOI）, temperature tolerance and pH tolerance were determined by the double-layer agar plate method. The results showed that the bacteriophage had a broad host range. The biological assay demonstrated that two strains of E. coil were fully lysed and one strain of E. coil was weakly lysed by the bacteriophage. The lysis titer and MOI of the bacteriophage were 1.20×10^8 PFU/ml and 1, respec- tively. Under the optimum temperature of 40℃, the Jysis titer of the bacteriophage reached 8.90×10^9 PFU/ml; however, the bacteriophage lost its infectivity at the tem- perature of 80℃. In the pH range of 5-11, the lysis titer of the bacteriophage ranged from10^6 to 10^9 PFU/mI. Under the condition of pH 4 and 12, the bacterio- phage was invalid.展开更多
Environmental mycobacteria are capable of forming biofilms in low-nutrient environments, and these biofilms may act as reservoirs for opportunistic infections. The purpose of this study was to determine if bacteriopha...Environmental mycobacteria are capable of forming biofilms in low-nutrient environments, and these biofilms may act as reservoirs for opportunistic infections. The purpose of this study was to determine if bacteriophages could disrupt existing biofilms of acid-fast staining Mycobacterium smegmatis. Using the MBEC 96-well plastic peg assay system, M. smegmatis biofilms were created and then tested for their stability in the presence of mycobacteriophages isolated from a Minnesota sphagnum peat bog. All phages tested were lytic and were observed to have weak, intermediate, and strong abilities to disrupt M. smegmatis biofilms. The formation of biofilms was severely impaired in the presence of mycobacteriophages. Phage treatment was also shown to augment?M. smegmatis biofilm disruption by mechanical forces of sonication or water flow. Our study shows that, as with biofilms of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, mycobacterial biofilms are also susceptible to destruction by bacteriophages.展开更多
To formulate the optimal strategy of combatting bacterial biofilms,in this review we update current knowledge on the growing problem of biofilm formation and its resistance to antibiotics which has spurred the search ...To formulate the optimal strategy of combatting bacterial biofilms,in this review we update current knowledge on the growing problem of biofilm formation and its resistance to antibiotics which has spurred the search for new strategies to deal with this complication.Based on recent findings,the role of bacteriophages in the prevention and elimination of biofilm-related infections has been emphasized.In vitro,ex vivo and in vivo biofilm treatment models with single bacteriophages or phage cocktails have been compared.A combined use of bacteriophages with antibiotics in vitro or in vivo confirms earlier reports of the synergistic effect of these agents in improving biofilm removal.Furthermore,studies on the application of phage-derived lysins in vitro,ex vivo or in vivo against biofilm-related infections are encouraging.The strategy of combined use of phage and antibiotics seems to be different from using lysins and antibiotics.These findings suggest that phages and lysins alone or in combination with antibiotics may be an efficient weapon against biofilm formation in vivo and ex vivo,which could be useful in formulating novel strategies to combat bacterial infections.Those findings proved to be relevant in the prevention and destruction of biofilms occurring during urinary tract infections,orthopedic implant-related infections,periodontal and peri-implant infections.In conclusion,it appears that most efficient strategy of eliminating biofilms involves phages or lysins in combination with antibiotics,but the optimal scheme of their administration requires further studies.展开更多
The Enterobacteriaceae are a class of gram-negative facultative anaerobic rods, which can cause a variety of diseases, such as bacteremia, septic arthritis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, lower respiratory tract infecti...The Enterobacteriaceae are a class of gram-negative facultative anaerobic rods, which can cause a variety of diseases, such as bacteremia, septic arthritis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, lower respiratory tract infections, skin and soft-tissue infections, urinary tract infections, intra-abdominal infections and ophthalmic infections, in humans, poultry, animals and fish. Disease caused by Enterobacteriaceae cause the deaths of millions of people every year, resulting in enormous economic loss. Drug treatment is a useful and efficient way to control Enterobacteriaceae infections. However, with the abuse of antibiotics, drug resistance has been found in growing number of Enterobacteriaceae infections and, as such, there is an urgent need to find new methods of control. Bacteriophage therapy is an efficient alternative to antibiotics as it employs a different antibacterial mechanism. This paper summarizes the history of bacteriophage therapy, its bacteriallytic mechanisms, and the studies that have focused on Enterobacteriaceae and bacteriophage therapy.展开更多
Bacterial wilt is a devastating disease of potato and can cause an 80% production loss. To control wilt using bacteriophage therapy, we isolated and characterized twelve lytic bacteriophages from different water sourc...Bacterial wilt is a devastating disease of potato and can cause an 80% production loss. To control wilt using bacteriophage therapy, we isolated and characterized twelve lytic bacteriophages from different water sources in Kenya and China. Based on the lytic curves of the phages with the pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum, one optimal bacteriophage cocktail, P1, containing six phage isolations was formulated and used for studying wilt prevention and treatment efficiency in potato plants growing in pots. The preliminary tests showed that the phage cocktail was very effective in preventing potato bacterial wilt by injection of the phages into the plants or decontamination of sterilized soil spiked with R. solanacearum. Eighty percent of potato plants could be protected from the bacterial wilt(caused by R. solanacearum reference strain GIM1.74 and field isolates), and the P1 cocktail could kill 98% of live bacteria spiked in the sterilized soil at one week after spraying.However, the treatment efficiencies of P1 depended on the timing of application of the phages, the susceptibility of the plants to the bacterial wilt, as well as the virulence of the bacteria infected,suggesting that it is important to apply the phage therapy as soon as possible once there are early signs of the bacterial wilt. These results provide the basis for the development of bacteriophagebased biocontrol of potato bacterial wilt as an alternative to the use of antibiotics.展开更多
The year 2015 marks 100 years since Dr.Frederick Twort discovered the"filterable lytic factor",which was later independently discovered and named "bacteriophage" by Dr.Felix d’Herelle.On this memo...The year 2015 marks 100 years since Dr.Frederick Twort discovered the"filterable lytic factor",which was later independently discovered and named "bacteriophage" by Dr.Felix d’Herelle.On this memorable centennial,it is exciting to see a special issue published by Virologica Sinica on Phages and Therapy.In this issue,readers will not only fi nd that bacteriophage research is a展开更多
Hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection is a major global health challenge leading to serious disorders such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, there exist various diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for...Hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection is a major global health challenge leading to serious disorders such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, there exist various diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for HBV infection. However, prevalence and hazardous effects of chronic viral infection heighten the need to develop novel methodologies for the detection and treatment of this infection. Bacteriophages, viruses that specifically infect bacterial cells, with a long-established tradition in molecular biology and biotechnology have recently been introduced as novel tools for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HBV infection. Bacteriophages, due to tremendous genetic flexibility, represent potential to undergo a huge variety of surface modifications. This property has been the rationale behind introduction of phage display concept. This powerful approach, together with combinatorial chemistry, has shaped the concept of phage display libraries with diverse applications for the detection and therapy of HBV infection. This review aims to offer an insightful overview of the potential of bacteriophages in the development of helpful prophylactic(vaccine design), diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for HBV infection thereby providing new perspec-tives to the growing field of bacteriophage researches directing towards HBV infection.展开更多
Acinetobacter baumannii causes serious infections especially in immunocompromised and/or hospitalized patients.Several A.baumannii strains are multidrug resistant and infect wounds,bones,and the respiratory tract.Curr...Acinetobacter baumannii causes serious infections especially in immunocompromised and/or hospitalized patients.Several A.baumannii strains are multidrug resistant and infect wounds,bones,and the respiratory tract.Current studies are focused on finding new effective agents against A.baumannii.Phage therapy is a promising means to fight this bacterium and many studies on procuring and applying new phages against A.baumannii are currently being conducted.As shown in animal models,phages against multidrug-resistant A.baumannii may control bacterial infections caused by this pathogen and may be a real hope to solve this dangerous health problem.展开更多
Soft rot is an economically significant disease in potato and one of the major threats to sustainable potato production.This study aimed at isolating lytic bacteriophages and evaluating methods for and the efficacy of...Soft rot is an economically significant disease in potato and one of the major threats to sustainable potato production.This study aimed at isolating lytic bacteriophages and evaluating methods for and the efficacy of applying phages to control potato soft rot caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum.Eleven bacteriophages isolated from soil and water samples collected in Wuhan,China,were used to infect P.carotovorum host strains isolated from potato tubers showing soft rot symptoms in Nakuru county,Kenya.The efficacy of the phages in controlling soft rot disease was evaluated by applying individual phage strains or a phage cocktail on potato slices and tubers at different time points before or after inoculation with a P.carotovorum strain.The phages could lyse 20 strains of P.carotovorum,but not Pseudomonas fluorescens control strains.Among the 11 phages,Pectobacterium phage Wc5r,interestingly showed cross-activity against Pectobacterium atrosepticum and two phage-resistant P.carotovorum strains.Potato slice assays showed that the phage concentration and timing of application are crucial factors for effective soft rot control.Phage cocktail applied at a concentration of 1×10^9 plaque-forming units per milliliter before or within an hour after bacterial inoculation on potato slices,resulted in>90%reduction of soft rot symptoms.This study provides a basis for the development and application of phages to reduce the impact of potato soft rot disease.展开更多
Background:Effective antibiotic alternatives are urgently needed in the poultry industry to control disease outbreaks.Phage therapy mainly utilizes lytic phages to kill their respective bacterial hosts and can be an a...Background:Effective antibiotic alternatives are urgently needed in the poultry industry to control disease outbreaks.Phage therapy mainly utilizes lytic phages to kill their respective bacterial hosts and can be an attractive solution to combating the emergence of antibiotic resistance in livestock.Methods:Five hundred and four,one-day-old broilers(Ross 308)were allotted to 1 of 4 treatment groups in a completely randomized design.Treatments consisted of CON(basal diet),PC(CON+0.025%Avilamax®),BP 0.05(CON+0.05%bacteriophage),and BP 0.10(CON+0.10%bacteriophage).Results:A significant linear effect on body weight gain(BWG)was observed during days 1–7,days 22–35,and cumulatively in bacteriophage(BP)supplemented groups.The BWG tended to be higher(P=0.08)and the feed intake(FI)was increased(P=0.017)in the PC group over CON group.A greater(P=0.016)BWG and trends in increased FI(P=0.06)were observed in the experiment in birds fed PC than CON diet.At the genus level,the relative abundance of Lactobacillus was decreased in PC(65.28%),while it was similar in BP 0.05 and BP 0.10(90.65%,86.72%)compared to CON(90.19%).At the species level,the relative abundance of Lactobacillus salivarus was higher in BP 0.05(40.15%)and BP 0.10(38.58%)compared to the CON(20.04%)and PC(18.05%).A linear reduction in the weight of bursa of Fabricius(P=0.022)and spleen(P=0.052)was observed in birds fed graded level of BP and an increase(P=0.059)in the weight of gizzard was observed in birds fed PC over BP diets.Linear and quadratic responses were observed in redness of breast muscle color in birds fed graded level of BP.Conclusions:The inclusion of the 0.05%and 0.1%BP cocktail linearly improved broiler weight during the first 7 days,22–35 days and cumulatively,whereas 0.05%BP addition was sufficient for supporting immune organs,bursa and spleen as well as enhancing gut microbiome,indicating the efficacy of 0.05%BP as a substitute antibiotic growth promoter in broiler diets.展开更多
In recent years, the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria has become a global concern which has prompted research into the development of alternative disease control strategies for the swine industry. Bacterio...In recent years, the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria has become a global concern which has prompted research into the development of alternative disease control strategies for the swine industry. Bacteriophages （viruses that infect bacteria） offer the prospect of a sustainable alternative approach against bacterial pathogens with the flexibility of being applied therapeutically or for biological control purposes. This paper reviews the use of phages as an antimicrobial strategy for controlling critical pathogens including Salmonella and Eschefich[a coli with an emphasis on the application of phages for improving performance and nutrient digestibility in swine operations as well as in controlling zoonotic human diseases by reducing the bacterial load spread from pork products to humans through the meat,展开更多
Pathogenic Escherichia coli cause chicken colibacillosis, which is economically devastating to the poultry in- dustry worldwide （Bagheri et al., 2014）. Owing to in- creasing antibiotic resistance, phage therapy reag...Pathogenic Escherichia coli cause chicken colibacillosis, which is economically devastating to the poultry in- dustry worldwide （Bagheri et al., 2014）. Owing to in- creasing antibiotic resistance, phage therapy reagents have been developed to treat bacterial infections （Xu et al., 2015）.展开更多
Pathogenic viruses in drinking water are great threats to public health. Visible-lightdriven photocatalysis is a promising technology for virus inactivation. However, the existing photocatalytic antiviral research stu...Pathogenic viruses in drinking water are great threats to public health. Visible-lightdriven photocatalysis is a promising technology for virus inactivation. However, the existing photocatalytic antiviral research studies have mostly been carried out in single-component systems, neglecting the effect of natural organic matter, which exists widely in actual water bodies. In this paper, electrospun Cu-TiO2 nanofibers were prepared as photocatalysts, and their photocatalytic antiviral performance in the presence of humic acid(HA) was comprehensively studied for the first time. The properties of the reaction mixture were measured during the reaction. In addition, the safety, reliability and stability of photocatalytic disinfection in the mixed system were evaluated. The results showed that the virus removal efficiency decreased with the increase of the HA concentration. The type of reaction solution, such as PBS buffer solution or water, did not affect the removal efficiency noticeably. Under acidic conditions, the electrostatic forces between photocatalysts and viruses were strengthened, leading to higher virus removal efficiency. As the reaction time went on, the pH value in the solution increased first and then tended to be stable, the conductivity remained stable, and the dissolved oxygen increased first and then decreased. The safety test showed that the concentration of Cu ions released into the solution was lower than specified by the international standards. No photoreactivation was observed, and the addition of HA significantly reduced the reutilization efficiency of the photocatalysts.展开更多
Viruses of thermophiles are of great interest due to their roles in gene transfer, global geochemical cycle and evolution of life on earth. However, the thermophilic bacteriophages have not been studied extensively. I...Viruses of thermophiles are of great interest due to their roles in gene transfer, global geochemical cycle and evolution of life on earth. However, the thermophilic bacteriophages have not been studied extensively. In this investigation, a typical bacteriophage BV1 was obtained from a thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus sp. 6k512, which was isolated from an inshore hot spring in Xiamen of China. The BV1 contained a double-stranded linear DNA of 35 055 bp, which encodes 54 open reading frames （ORFs）. Interestingly, eight of the 54 BV1 ORFs shared sequence similarities to genes from human disease-relevant bacteria. Seven proteins of the purified BV1 virions were identified by proteomic analysis. Determination of BV1 functional genomics would facilitate the better understanding of the mechanism for virus-thermophile interaction.展开更多
The molecular biomechanics of DNA ejection from bacteriophage is of interest to not only fundamental biological understandings but also practical applications such as the design of advanced site-specific and controlla...The molecular biomechanics of DNA ejection from bacteriophage is of interest to not only fundamental biological understandings but also practical applications such as the design of advanced site-specific and controllable drug delivery systems. In this paper, we analyze the viscous motion of a semiflexible polymer chain coming out of a strongly confined space as a model to investigate the effects of various structure confinements and frictional resistances encountered during the DNA ejection process. The theoretically predicted relations between the ejection speed, ejection time, ejection length, and other physical parameters, such as the phage type, total genome length and ionic state of external buffer solutions, show excellent agreement with in vitro experimental observations in the literature.展开更多
The lysogenic phage CTXΦ of Vibrio cholerae can transfer the cholera toxin gene both horizontally(inter-strain) and vertically(cell proliferation). Due to its diversity in form and species, the complexity of regulato...The lysogenic phage CTXΦ of Vibrio cholerae can transfer the cholera toxin gene both horizontally(inter-strain) and vertically(cell proliferation). Due to its diversity in form and species, the complexity of regulatory mechanisms, and the important role of the infection mechanism in the production of new virulent strains of V.cholerae, the study of the lysogenic phage CTXΦ has attracted much attention. Based on the progress of current research, the genomic features and their arrangement, the host-dependent regulatory mechanisms of CTXΦ phage survival, proliferation and propagation were reviewed to further understand the phage's role in the evolutionary and epidemiological mechanisms of V. cholerae.展开更多
Ubiquitous on earth,bacteriophages are the most abundant entities in every ecosystem,but human knowledge about them is still limited compared with that about other forms of organisms.To enrich human knowledge and prom...Ubiquitous on earth,bacteriophages are the most abundant entities in every ecosystem,but human knowledge about them is still limited compared with that about other forms of organisms.To enrich human knowledge and promote the utilization of bacteriophages,it is necessary to isolate and characterize as many as possible different bacteriophages.Here we describe the isolation of a T4-like bacteriophage IME08 and a rapid method for its genetic characterization.With this method we easily cloned a few random fragments of the bacteriophage genome.Sequence analysis of these random clones showed that bacteriophage IME08 shared the highest sequence similarity with T4-like Enterobacteria phage T4（94%identity）,JS98（95% identity）,JS10（95%identity） and RB14（94%identity） respectively,which suggested that IME08 belonged to T4-like bacteriophage genus.展开更多
The inactivation effects of pressurized CO2 against bacteriophage Qβ and ФX 174 were investigated under the pressure of 0.3-0.9 MPa, initial concentration of 107-109 PFU/mL, and temperature of 17.8℃-27.2℃. The opt...The inactivation effects of pressurized CO2 against bacteriophage Qβ and ФX 174 were investigated under the pressure of 0.3-0.9 MPa, initial concentration of 107-109 PFU/mL, and temperature of 17.8℃-27.2℃. The optimum conditions were found to be 0.7 MPa and an exposure time of 25 min. Under identical treatment conditions, a greater than 3.3-log reduction in bacteriophage Qβ was achieved by CO2, while a nearly 3.0 log reduction was observed for phage ФX174. The viricidal effects of N2O （an inactivation gas with similar characteristics to CO2）, normal acid （HC1）, and CO2 treatment with phosphate buffered saline affirmed the chemical nature of CO2 treatment. The pumping cycle, depressurization rate, and release of intracellular substances caused by CO2 were its viricidal mechanisms. The results indicate that CO2 has the potential for use as a disinfectant without forming disinfection by-products.展开更多
文摘Aim: This study was carried out in order to evaluate the potential of bacteriophages in controlling tomato bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. Study design: A purposive sampling technique was used to collect samples from bacterial wilt hot spot tomato growing areas in Kenya. Place and duration of study: The research work was done at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, between June 2020 and July 2021. Methodology: Thirty diseased plants and corresponding soil were collected from five counties, Nyeri, Kajiado, Nyandarua, Kiambu and Taita Taveta. Bacteria were isolated and characterized, and then used as hosts to propagate the phages. Tests done were gram stain, oxidation test, potassium hydroxide solubility test, H2S production test catalase test, NaCl test and sugar fermentation test. Molecular analysis and phenotyping were also done in order to identify the bacteria. The bacteriophages were then isolated through a double overlay method using R. solanacearum as the host. They were characterized and assayed in a greenhouse setting to determine their effectiveness in controlling bacterial wilt. Results: Six host bacteria were isolated and all belonged to biovar II. Four phages were observed based on morphology. Upon characterization the phages were stable at 30˚C, PH range between 6 - 7 and tolerance of more than an hour under UV light. In the greenhouse experiment, treatment of plants with bacteriophage prevented wilting after subsequent inoculation with the pathogen. A bacteriophage mix of SN1 and WT1 were used for efficacy tests due to their efficiency in plating and infection. Phage SN1 and WT1 exhibited high lytic activity and relatively high thermotolerance and acid tolerance, thereby showing great potential in the biocontrol of bacterial wilt infection across a variety of conditions. Conclusion: The results obtained in this research show that bacteriophages offer potential for the biocontrol of bacterial wilt.
基金This work was supported by the Western Medicine Program of the Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission(No.2024KY592)the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities of the Central South University(No.2-2050205-19-361),China.
文摘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.
基金Supported by Special Fund for Ocean and Fisheries Science Technology and Industrial Development of Guangdong Province(A201508A05)~~
文摘In this study, bacteriophage of an antibiotic-resistant Escherchia coil strain isolated from feces of chicken was isolated. Its host range was determined by the method of spotting sample on monolayer agar, and its lysis titer, optimal multiplicity of infection （MOI）, temperature tolerance and pH tolerance were determined by the double-layer agar plate method. The results showed that the bacteriophage had a broad host range. The biological assay demonstrated that two strains of E. coil were fully lysed and one strain of E. coil was weakly lysed by the bacteriophage. The lysis titer and MOI of the bacteriophage were 1.20×10^8 PFU/ml and 1, respec- tively. Under the optimum temperature of 40℃, the Jysis titer of the bacteriophage reached 8.90×10^9 PFU/ml; however, the bacteriophage lost its infectivity at the tem- perature of 80℃. In the pH range of 5-11, the lysis titer of the bacteriophage ranged from10^6 to 10^9 PFU/mI. Under the condition of pH 4 and 12, the bacterio- phage was invalid.
文摘Environmental mycobacteria are capable of forming biofilms in low-nutrient environments, and these biofilms may act as reservoirs for opportunistic infections. The purpose of this study was to determine if bacteriophages could disrupt existing biofilms of acid-fast staining Mycobacterium smegmatis. Using the MBEC 96-well plastic peg assay system, M. smegmatis biofilms were created and then tested for their stability in the presence of mycobacteriophages isolated from a Minnesota sphagnum peat bog. All phages tested were lytic and were observed to have weak, intermediate, and strong abilities to disrupt M. smegmatis biofilms. The formation of biofilms was severely impaired in the presence of mycobacteriophages. Phage treatment was also shown to augment?M. smegmatis biofilm disruption by mechanical forces of sonication or water flow. Our study shows that, as with biofilms of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, mycobacterial biofilms are also susceptible to destruction by bacteriophages.
文摘To formulate the optimal strategy of combatting bacterial biofilms,in this review we update current knowledge on the growing problem of biofilm formation and its resistance to antibiotics which has spurred the search for new strategies to deal with this complication.Based on recent findings,the role of bacteriophages in the prevention and elimination of biofilm-related infections has been emphasized.In vitro,ex vivo and in vivo biofilm treatment models with single bacteriophages or phage cocktails have been compared.A combined use of bacteriophages with antibiotics in vitro or in vivo confirms earlier reports of the synergistic effect of these agents in improving biofilm removal.Furthermore,studies on the application of phage-derived lysins in vitro,ex vivo or in vivo against biofilm-related infections are encouraging.The strategy of combined use of phage and antibiotics seems to be different from using lysins and antibiotics.These findings suggest that phages and lysins alone or in combination with antibiotics may be an efficient weapon against biofilm formation in vivo and ex vivo,which could be useful in formulating novel strategies to combat bacterial infections.Those findings proved to be relevant in the prevention and destruction of biofilms occurring during urinary tract infections,orthopedic implant-related infections,periodontal and peri-implant infections.In conclusion,it appears that most efficient strategy of eliminating biofilms involves phages or lysins in combination with antibiotics,but the optimal scheme of their administration requires further studies.
基金supported by the National Infrastructure of Microbial Resources (NIMR2014-4)
文摘The Enterobacteriaceae are a class of gram-negative facultative anaerobic rods, which can cause a variety of diseases, such as bacteremia, septic arthritis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, lower respiratory tract infections, skin and soft-tissue infections, urinary tract infections, intra-abdominal infections and ophthalmic infections, in humans, poultry, animals and fish. Disease caused by Enterobacteriaceae cause the deaths of millions of people every year, resulting in enormous economic loss. Drug treatment is a useful and efficient way to control Enterobacteriaceae infections. However, with the abuse of antibiotics, drug resistance has been found in growing number of Enterobacteriaceae infections and, as such, there is an urgent need to find new methods of control. Bacteriophage therapy is an efficient alternative to antibiotics as it employs a different antibacterial mechanism. This paper summarizes the history of bacteriophage therapy, its bacteriallytic mechanisms, and the studies that have focused on Enterobacteriaceae and bacteriophage therapy.
基金supported financially by the Sino-Africa Joint Research Center(SAJC201605)the Chinese Academy of Sciences(ZDRW-ZS-2016-4)
文摘Bacterial wilt is a devastating disease of potato and can cause an 80% production loss. To control wilt using bacteriophage therapy, we isolated and characterized twelve lytic bacteriophages from different water sources in Kenya and China. Based on the lytic curves of the phages with the pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum, one optimal bacteriophage cocktail, P1, containing six phage isolations was formulated and used for studying wilt prevention and treatment efficiency in potato plants growing in pots. The preliminary tests showed that the phage cocktail was very effective in preventing potato bacterial wilt by injection of the phages into the plants or decontamination of sterilized soil spiked with R. solanacearum. Eighty percent of potato plants could be protected from the bacterial wilt(caused by R. solanacearum reference strain GIM1.74 and field isolates), and the P1 cocktail could kill 98% of live bacteria spiked in the sterilized soil at one week after spraying.However, the treatment efficiencies of P1 depended on the timing of application of the phages, the susceptibility of the plants to the bacterial wilt, as well as the virulence of the bacteria infected,suggesting that it is important to apply the phage therapy as soon as possible once there are early signs of the bacterial wilt. These results provide the basis for the development of bacteriophagebased biocontrol of potato bacterial wilt as an alternative to the use of antibiotics.
基金supported by the Basic Research Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2012CB721102)the Chinese Academy of Sciences(grant No:KJZD-EW-L02)the Key Laboratory on Emerging Infectious Diseases and Biosafety in Wuhan
文摘The year 2015 marks 100 years since Dr.Frederick Twort discovered the"filterable lytic factor",which was later independently discovered and named "bacteriophage" by Dr.Felix d’Herelle.On this memorable centennial,it is exciting to see a special issue published by Virologica Sinica on Phages and Therapy.In this issue,readers will not only fi nd that bacteriophage research is a
文摘Hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection is a major global health challenge leading to serious disorders such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, there exist various diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for HBV infection. However, prevalence and hazardous effects of chronic viral infection heighten the need to develop novel methodologies for the detection and treatment of this infection. Bacteriophages, viruses that specifically infect bacterial cells, with a long-established tradition in molecular biology and biotechnology have recently been introduced as novel tools for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HBV infection. Bacteriophages, due to tremendous genetic flexibility, represent potential to undergo a huge variety of surface modifications. This property has been the rationale behind introduction of phage display concept. This powerful approach, together with combinatorial chemistry, has shaped the concept of phage display libraries with diverse applications for the detection and therapy of HBV infection. This review aims to offer an insightful overview of the potential of bacteriophages in the development of helpful prophylactic(vaccine design), diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for HBV infection thereby providing new perspec-tives to the growing field of bacteriophage researches directing towards HBV infection.
基金supported by the statutory funds from the Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences
文摘Acinetobacter baumannii causes serious infections especially in immunocompromised and/or hospitalized patients.Several A.baumannii strains are multidrug resistant and infect wounds,bones,and the respiratory tract.Current studies are focused on finding new effective agents against A.baumannii.Phage therapy is a promising means to fight this bacterium and many studies on procuring and applying new phages against A.baumannii are currently being conducted.As shown in animal models,phages against multidrug-resistant A.baumannii may control bacterial infections caused by this pathogen and may be a real hope to solve this dangerous health problem.
基金supported financially by the Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre (SAJC201605)the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ZDRW-ZS-2016-4)
文摘Soft rot is an economically significant disease in potato and one of the major threats to sustainable potato production.This study aimed at isolating lytic bacteriophages and evaluating methods for and the efficacy of applying phages to control potato soft rot caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum.Eleven bacteriophages isolated from soil and water samples collected in Wuhan,China,were used to infect P.carotovorum host strains isolated from potato tubers showing soft rot symptoms in Nakuru county,Kenya.The efficacy of the phages in controlling soft rot disease was evaluated by applying individual phage strains or a phage cocktail on potato slices and tubers at different time points before or after inoculation with a P.carotovorum strain.The phages could lyse 20 strains of P.carotovorum,but not Pseudomonas fluorescens control strains.Among the 11 phages,Pectobacterium phage Wc5r,interestingly showed cross-activity against Pectobacterium atrosepticum and two phage-resistant P.carotovorum strains.Potato slice assays showed that the phage concentration and timing of application are crucial factors for effective soft rot control.Phage cocktail applied at a concentration of 1×10^9 plaque-forming units per milliliter before or within an hour after bacterial inoculation on potato slices,resulted in>90%reduction of soft rot symptoms.This study provides a basis for the development and application of phages to reduce the impact of potato soft rot disease.
文摘Background:Effective antibiotic alternatives are urgently needed in the poultry industry to control disease outbreaks.Phage therapy mainly utilizes lytic phages to kill their respective bacterial hosts and can be an attractive solution to combating the emergence of antibiotic resistance in livestock.Methods:Five hundred and four,one-day-old broilers(Ross 308)were allotted to 1 of 4 treatment groups in a completely randomized design.Treatments consisted of CON(basal diet),PC(CON+0.025%Avilamax®),BP 0.05(CON+0.05%bacteriophage),and BP 0.10(CON+0.10%bacteriophage).Results:A significant linear effect on body weight gain(BWG)was observed during days 1–7,days 22–35,and cumulatively in bacteriophage(BP)supplemented groups.The BWG tended to be higher(P=0.08)and the feed intake(FI)was increased(P=0.017)in the PC group over CON group.A greater(P=0.016)BWG and trends in increased FI(P=0.06)were observed in the experiment in birds fed PC than CON diet.At the genus level,the relative abundance of Lactobacillus was decreased in PC(65.28%),while it was similar in BP 0.05 and BP 0.10(90.65%,86.72%)compared to CON(90.19%).At the species level,the relative abundance of Lactobacillus salivarus was higher in BP 0.05(40.15%)and BP 0.10(38.58%)compared to the CON(20.04%)and PC(18.05%).A linear reduction in the weight of bursa of Fabricius(P=0.022)and spleen(P=0.052)was observed in birds fed graded level of BP and an increase(P=0.059)in the weight of gizzard was observed in birds fed PC over BP diets.Linear and quadratic responses were observed in redness of breast muscle color in birds fed graded level of BP.Conclusions:The inclusion of the 0.05%and 0.1%BP cocktail linearly improved broiler weight during the first 7 days,22–35 days and cumulatively,whereas 0.05%BP addition was sufficient for supporting immune organs,bursa and spleen as well as enhancing gut microbiome,indicating the efficacy of 0.05%BP as a substitute antibiotic growth promoter in broiler diets.
基金the National Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean(Grant No.201405003-3)
文摘In recent years, the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria has become a global concern which has prompted research into the development of alternative disease control strategies for the swine industry. Bacteriophages （viruses that infect bacteria） offer the prospect of a sustainable alternative approach against bacterial pathogens with the flexibility of being applied therapeutically or for biological control purposes. This paper reviews the use of phages as an antimicrobial strategy for controlling critical pathogens including Salmonella and Eschefich[a coli with an emphasis on the application of phages for improving performance and nutrient digestibility in swine operations as well as in controlling zoonotic human diseases by reducing the bacterial load spread from pork products to humans through the meat,
基金supported by grants from the Nature Science Foundation of Shandong Province of China (grant nos.ZR2013CQ024 and ZR2015CM020)
文摘Pathogenic Escherichia coli cause chicken colibacillosis, which is economically devastating to the poultry in- dustry worldwide （Bagheri et al., 2014）. Owing to in- creasing antibiotic resistance, phage therapy reagents have been developed to treat bacterial infections （Xu et al., 2015）.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51778618,51478460)
文摘Pathogenic viruses in drinking water are great threats to public health. Visible-lightdriven photocatalysis is a promising technology for virus inactivation. However, the existing photocatalytic antiviral research studies have mostly been carried out in single-component systems, neglecting the effect of natural organic matter, which exists widely in actual water bodies. In this paper, electrospun Cu-TiO2 nanofibers were prepared as photocatalysts, and their photocatalytic antiviral performance in the presence of humic acid(HA) was comprehensively studied for the first time. The properties of the reaction mixture were measured during the reaction. In addition, the safety, reliability and stability of photocatalytic disinfection in the mixed system were evaluated. The results showed that the virus removal efficiency decreased with the increase of the HA concentration. The type of reaction solution, such as PBS buffer solution or water, did not affect the removal efficiency noticeably. Under acidic conditions, the electrostatic forces between photocatalysts and viruses were strengthened, leading to higher virus removal efficiency. As the reaction time went on, the pH value in the solution increased first and then tended to be stable, the conductivity remained stable, and the dissolved oxygen increased first and then decreased. The safety test showed that the concentration of Cu ions released into the solution was lower than specified by the international standards. No photoreactivation was observed, and the addition of HA significantly reduced the reutilization efficiency of the photocatalysts.
基金The Key Natural Science Foundation of Fujian under contract No. 2007J0004the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 40576076
文摘Viruses of thermophiles are of great interest due to their roles in gene transfer, global geochemical cycle and evolution of life on earth. However, the thermophilic bacteriophages have not been studied extensively. In this investigation, a typical bacteriophage BV1 was obtained from a thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus sp. 6k512, which was isolated from an inshore hot spring in Xiamen of China. The BV1 contained a double-stranded linear DNA of 35 055 bp, which encodes 54 open reading frames （ORFs）. Interestingly, eight of the 54 BV1 ORFs shared sequence similarities to genes from human disease-relevant bacteria. Seven proteins of the purified BV1 virions were identified by proteomic analysis. Determination of BV1 functional genomics would facilitate the better understanding of the mechanism for virus-thermophile interaction.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11032006, 11072094, and 11121202)the PhD Program Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China (20100211110022)+1 种基金New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0445)supported by the National Science Foundation through grant CMMI-1028530 to Brown University
文摘The molecular biomechanics of DNA ejection from bacteriophage is of interest to not only fundamental biological understandings but also practical applications such as the design of advanced site-specific and controllable drug delivery systems. In this paper, we analyze the viscous motion of a semiflexible polymer chain coming out of a strongly confined space as a model to investigate the effects of various structure confinements and frictional resistances encountered during the DNA ejection process. The theoretically predicted relations between the ejection speed, ejection time, ejection length, and other physical parameters, such as the phage type, total genome length and ionic state of external buffer solutions, show excellent agreement with in vitro experimental observations in the literature.
基金supported by the State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control of China (Grant number 2014SKLID101)the Priority Project on Infectious Disease Control and Prevention (2012ZX10004215)
文摘The lysogenic phage CTXΦ of Vibrio cholerae can transfer the cholera toxin gene both horizontally(inter-strain) and vertically(cell proliferation). Due to its diversity in form and species, the complexity of regulatory mechanisms, and the important role of the infection mechanism in the production of new virulent strains of V.cholerae, the study of the lysogenic phage CTXΦ has attracted much attention. Based on the progress of current research, the genomic features and their arrangement, the host-dependent regulatory mechanisms of CTXΦ phage survival, proliferation and propagation were reviewed to further understand the phage's role in the evolutionary and epidemiological mechanisms of V. cholerae.
文摘Ubiquitous on earth,bacteriophages are the most abundant entities in every ecosystem,but human knowledge about them is still limited compared with that about other forms of organisms.To enrich human knowledge and promote the utilization of bacteriophages,it is necessary to isolate and characterize as many as possible different bacteriophages.Here we describe the isolation of a T4-like bacteriophage IME08 and a rapid method for its genetic characterization.With this method we easily cloned a few random fragments of the bacteriophage genome.Sequence analysis of these random clones showed that bacteriophage IME08 shared the highest sequence similarity with T4-like Enterobacteria phage T4（94%identity）,JS98（95% identity）,JS10（95%identity） and RB14（94%identity） respectively,which suggested that IME08 belonged to T4-like bacteriophage genus.
基金supported by a cooperation agreement between Yamaguchi University and the Ministry of Education & Training (Vietnam)
文摘The inactivation effects of pressurized CO2 against bacteriophage Qβ and ФX 174 were investigated under the pressure of 0.3-0.9 MPa, initial concentration of 107-109 PFU/mL, and temperature of 17.8℃-27.2℃. The optimum conditions were found to be 0.7 MPa and an exposure time of 25 min. Under identical treatment conditions, a greater than 3.3-log reduction in bacteriophage Qβ was achieved by CO2, while a nearly 3.0 log reduction was observed for phage ФX174. The viricidal effects of N2O （an inactivation gas with similar characteristics to CO2）, normal acid （HC1）, and CO2 treatment with phosphate buffered saline affirmed the chemical nature of CO2 treatment. The pumping cycle, depressurization rate, and release of intracellular substances caused by CO2 were its viricidal mechanisms. The results indicate that CO2 has the potential for use as a disinfectant without forming disinfection by-products.
