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Synergistic antimicrobial activity of bacteriophages and antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus

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Abstract

This study was designed to assess the synergistic antimicrobial effect of phages combined with antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus. The phage-antibiotic synergy (PAS) effect was evaluated using the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) and flow cytometric analysis. The determined minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values varied from 0.125 to 128 μg/mL for S. aureus KACC 13236 (SAS) and from 0.25 to >256 μg/mL for S. aureus CCARM 3080 (SAR). The PAS effect was more pronounced in SAS treated with phage SA11 in the presence of cefoxitin (FIC=0.62), chloramphenicol (FIC=0.54), and polymyxin B (FIC=0.38). SAS and SAR cells were injured when exposed to asublethal concentration of ciprofloxacin, whereas these cells were highly susceptible to the phage-antibiotic combined treatment, showing 96% of relative percentages of injured and dead cells. The results suggest that the combined treatment of phages and antibiotics can be used to improve antimicrobial efficacy against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China

    Tian Ding

  2. Department of Medical Biomaterials Engineering and Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon, 24341, Korea

    Ara Jo & Juhee Ahn

Authors
  1. Ara Jo
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  2. Tian Ding
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  3. Juhee Ahn
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Correspondence to Juhee Ahn.

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Jo, A., Ding, T. & Ahn, J. Synergistic antimicrobial activity of bacteriophages and antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus . Food Sci Biotechnol 25, 935–940 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-016-0153-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-016-0153-0

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