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A Novel N4-Like Bacteriophage Isolated from a Wastewater Source in South India with Activity against Several Multidrug-Resistant Clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates

Publication Type : Journal Article

Thematic Areas : Medical Sciences, Biotech

Publisher : mSphere

Source : ASM Journals mSphere, 2021 Vol. 6, No. 1

Url : http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/msphere.01215-20

Campus : Kochi

School : School of Biotechnology, School of Medicine

Center : Biotechnology

Department : Microbiology, biotechnology

Year : 2021

Abstract : Multidrug-resistant community-acquired infections caused by the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are increasingly reported in India and other locations globally. Since this organism is ubiquitous in the environment, samples such as sewage and wastewater are rich reservoirs of P. aeruginosa bacteriophages. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of a novel P. aeruginosa N4-like lytic bacteriophage, vB_Pae_AM.P2 (AM.P2), from wastewater in Kerala, India. AM.P2 is a double-stranded DNA podovirus that efficiently lyses the model strain, PAO1, at a multiplicity of infection as low as 0.1 phage per bacterium and resistance frequency of 6.59 × 10−4. Synergy in bactericidal activity was observed between AM.P2 and subinhibitory concentrations of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. Genome sequencing of AM.P2 revealed features similar to those of the N4-like P. aeruginosa phages LUZ7 and KPP21. As judged by two independent assay methods, spot tests and growth inhibition, AM.P2 successfully inhibited the growth of almost 30% of strains from a contemporary collection of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa clinical isolates from South India. Thus, AM.P2 may represent an intriguing candidate for inclusion in bacteriophage cocktails developed for various applications, including water decontamination and clinical bacteriophage therapy.

Cite this Research Publication : Nitasha D. Menon, Megha S. Kumar, T. G. Satheesh Babu, Sucharita Bose, Gayathri Vijayakumar, Manasi Baswe, Meghna Chatterjee, Jovita Rowena D’Silva, Kavya Shetty, Jayalekshmi Haripriyan, Anil Kumar, Samitha Nair, Priyanka Somanath, Bipin G. Nair, Victor Nizet, Geetha B. Kumar "A Novel N4-Like Bacteriophage Isolated from a Wastewater Source in South India with Activity against Several Multidrug-Resistant Clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates",

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