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Isolation and characterization of a relatively broad-spectrum phage against Escherichia coli

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Abstract

Multiple pathogenic types or serotypes restrict treatment for colibacillosis. In addition, rising antibiotic resistance has heightened public awareness to prevent and control pathogenic Escherichia coli. The bacteriophage is a viable technique to treat colibacillosis as an alternative to antibiotics. In this study, PH444, a relatively broad-spectrum obligate lytic phage, was screened from 48 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) phages isolated from farm manure samples and sewage samples in order to conduct genome-wide analysis, biological characterization, and a bacterial challenge experiment in milk. The results demonstrated that PH444 was a T7-like phage with a double-stranded DNA of 115,111 bp that belongs to the Kuravirus and was stable at temperatures between 4 and 50 °C and a pH range of 3 to 11. After adding PH444, the bacterial load in milk could be reduced from 3 × 103 PFU/ mL to zero within 1 h. In consideration of the biological properties of phage PH444, it was, therefore, demonstrated that PH444 has the potential to be used in phage biocontrol.

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Funding

This study was supported by the following funds: Natural Science Research Project of Anhui Province (KJ2021ZD0153). NHC Key laboratory of Enteric Pathogenic Microbiology (Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, EM202303). Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province(2022AH052192). Wuhu Institute of Technology level science and technology team (wzykjtd202002). Academic and technical leader of the "Talent Project" at Wuhu Institute of Technology (rc2022dtr03). Research and Planning Project on Education and Teaching of Anhui Vocational and Adult Education Association (AZCJ2023218). “National Visiting Scholar Program for Young Backbone Teachers of Higher Education Institutions in Central and Western China” by the Ministry of Education. Task of Qingdao Comprehensive Test Station of National Layer Industrial Technology System, No. CARS-40-S13.

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Author notes

  1. Haiyan Zhang and Xiapei Hu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Biology Engineering, Wuhu Institute of Technology, Wuhu, 241003, China

    Haiyan Zhang, Zhengxing Ma & Shuang Zhang

  2. College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Haiyan Zhang, Xiapei Hu, Xiangkuan Zhen & Wei Zhang

  3. Detection of Food-Borne Pathogenic Microorganisms Engineering Research Center of Wuhu, Wuhu, 241000, China

    Haiyan Zhang, Zhengxing Ma, Shuang Zhang & Wei Zhang

  4. The Sanya Institute of Nanjing Agriculture University, Sanya, 572024, China

    Wei Zhang

  5. College of Animal Medical, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, 830052, China

    Panpan Tong

  6. Wuhu Qingshui White Meat Wholesale Market Co., LTD, Wuhu, 241000, China

    Guangxi Zhai

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  1. Haiyan Zhang
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Contributions

Formal analysis, Zhenxing MA; Funding acquisition, Haiyan Zhang and Wei Zhang; Visualization, Guangxi Zhai; Writing – original draft, Haiyan Zhang and Shuang Zhang; Writing – review & editing, Wei Zhang, Xiapei Hu, Xiangkuan Zhen and Panpan Tong. All authors will be informed about each step of manuscript processing including submission, revision, revision reminder, etc. via emails from our system or assigned Assistant Editor.

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Correspondence to Shuang Zhang or Wei Zhang.

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Communicated by Yusuf Akhter.

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Zhang, H., Hu, X., Ma, Z. et al. Isolation and characterization of a relatively broad-spectrum phage against Escherichia coli. Arch Microbiol 206, 197 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-024-03923-7

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