Characterization of newly isolated lytic bacteriophages active against Acinetobacter baumannii

Maia Merabishvili; Dieter Vandenheuvel; Andrew M Kropinski; Jan Mast; Daniel De Vos; Gilbert Verbeken; Jean-Paul Noben; Rob Lavigne; Mario Vaneechoutte; Jean-Paul Pirnay

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104853

Characterization of newly isolated lytic bacteriophages active against Acinetobacter baumannii

PLoS One. 2014 Aug 11;9(8):e104853. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0104853. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology (LabMCT), Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium; Eliava Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology, Tbilisi, Georgia; Laboratory for Bacteriology Research (LBR), Faculty Medicine & Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
² Laboratory of Gene Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
³ Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Electron Microscopy Unit, Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Brussels, Belgium.
⁵ Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Technology (LabMCT), Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Brussels, Belgium.
⁶ Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
⁷ Laboratory for Bacteriology Research (LBR), Faculty Medicine & Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Abstract

Based on genotyping and host range, two newly isolated lytic bacteriophages, myovirus vB_AbaM_Acibel004 and podovirus vB_AbaP_Acibel007, active against Acinetobacter baumannii clinical strains, were selected from a new phage library for further characterization. The complete genomes of the two phages were analyzed. Both phages are characterized by broad host range and essential features of potential therapeutic phages, such as short latent period (27 and 21 min, respectively), high burst size (125 and 145, respectively), stability of activity in liquid culture and low frequency of occurrence of phage-resistant mutant bacterial cells. Genomic analysis showed that while Acibel004 represents a novel bacteriophage with resemblance to some unclassified Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages, Acibel007 belongs to the well-characterized genus of the Phikmvlikevirus. The newly isolated phages can serve as potential candidates for phage cocktails to control A. baumannii infections.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Acinetobacter baumannii / virology*
Bacteriophages / genetics
Bacteriophages / growth & development
Bacteriophages / isolation & purification*
Bacteriophages / physiology*
Culture Techniques
Genome, Viral / genetics
Host Specificity
Molecular Sequence Annotation
Phenotype
Proteomics

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Royal Higher Institute for Defense of Belgium (grant MED 12). The authors would like to acknowledge the Research community “Phagebiotics” (WO.022.09) grant from the FWO Vlaanderen. The research of DV was funded by a Ph.D. grant of the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) Flanders. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.