Phagovet

E. coli Bacteriophages

E. coli is a commonly known pathogen, but many are unaware of its specific variants.

Avian pathogenic E. coli, or APEC, poses a significant threat to both the poultry industry and public health. As resistance to antibiotics continues to spread, alternative methods of controlling APEC infections are needed – give preference to bacteriophages.

Bacteriophages are viruses that specifically attack and eliminate bacterial cells.

In this study, researchers searched for three new phages that specifically target E. coli O18 from wastewater samples. These phages were successfully characterized in vitro and further research is investigating their potential use in treating E. coli infections in poultry.

The discovery and use of these phages could significantly reduce the impact of APEC on both the poultry industry and public health. Further research into bacteriophage therapy offers promising solutions for controlling antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections worldwide.

The authors Fatma Abdelrahman, Nouran Rezk, Mohamed S Fayez, Mohamed Abdelmoteleb, Reham Atteya, Mohamed Elhadidy, and Ayman El-Shibiny researched this in the article Isolation, Characterization, and Genomic Analysis of Three Novel E. coli Bacteriophages That Effectively Infect E. coli O18, dated 9 March 2022.

Topics:

  • E. coli is a common pathogenic bacterium that can cause severe disease in poultry.
  • Antibiotic resistance is a problem in the treatment of E. coli infections, so alternative therapy is needed.
  •  Bacteriophages are considered a possible solution for the treatment of E. coli infections. In this study, three new phages were isolated and characterized.
  •  The complete genomes of the three phages were sequenced and deposited in the GenBank database.
Genomic Analysis of Three Novel E. coli Bacteriophages That Effectively Infect E coli O18

Abstract

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the most common pathogenic bacteria worldwide.

Avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) causes severe systemic disease in poultry (Colibacillosis), and accordingly, has an extreme risk to the poultry industry and public health worldwide. Due to the increased rate of multi-drug resistance among these bacteria, it is necessary to find an alternative therapy to antibiotics to treat such infections. Bacteriophages are considered one of the best solutions.

This study aimed to isolate, characterize, and evaluate the potential use of isolated bacteriophages to control E. coli infections in poultry. Three novel phages against E. coli O18 were isolated from sewage water and characterized in vitro.

The genome size of the three phages was estimated to be 44,776 bp, and the electron microscopic analysis showed that they belonged to the Siphoviridae family, in the order Caudovirales. Phages showed good tolerance to a broad range of pH and temperature.

The complete genomes of three phages were sequenced and deposited into the GenBank database. The closely related published genomes of Escherichia phages were identified using BLASTn alignment and phylogenetic trees.

The prediction of the open reading frames (ORFs) identified protein-coding genes that are responsible for functions that have been assigned such as cell lysis proteins, DNA packaging proteins, structural proteins, and DNA replication/transcription/repair proteins.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; Siphoviridae; avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC); bacteriophages.

Copyright: the authors.