A Lytic Yersina pestis Bacteriophage Obtained From the Bone Marrow of Marmota himalayana in a Plague-Focus Area in China

Abstract

A lytic Yersinia pestis phage vB_YpP-YepMm (also named YepMm for briefly) was first isolated from the bone marrow of a Marmota himalayana who died of natural causes on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in China. Based on its morphologic (isometric hexagonal head and short non-contractile conical tail) and genomic features, we classified it as belonging to the Podoviridae family. At the MOI of 10, YepMm reached maximum titers; and the one-step growth curve showed that the incubation period of the phage was about 10 min, the rise phase was about 80 min, and the lysis amount of the phage during the lysis period of 80 min was about 187 PFU/cell. The genome of the bacteriophage YepMm had nucleotide-sequence similarity of 99.99% to that of the Y. pestis bacteriophage Yep-phi characterized previously. Analyses of the biological characters showed that YepMm has a short latent period, strong lysis, and a broader lysis spectrum. It could infect Y. pestis, highly pathogenic bioserotype 1B/O:8 Y. enterocolitica, as well as serotype O:1b Y. pseudotuberculosis—the ancestor of Y. pestis. It could be further developed as an important biocontrol agent in pathogenic Yersinia spp. infection.

New Bacteriophages with Podoviridal Morphotypes Active against Yersinia pestis: Characterization and Application Potential

“…These results are within the range of infection kinetics data, somewhere in the middle, obtained for other phages lytic to the Enterobacteriaceae family. For example, the burst size of Podovoridae phages of Enterobacteriacerae was reported to be as low as 12 PFU [ 82 ] and as high as 187 PFU/cell [ 83 , 84 ]. Phages with different morphotypes, for example T4-like phages active against Y. pseudotuberculosis, have a latent period of 50–55 min and burst size 44–65 PFU [ 85 ].…”

Effects of the Newly Isolated T4-like Phage on Transmission of Plasmid-Borne Antibiotic Resistance Genes via Generalized Transduction

“…One-step growth experiments were carried out as described previously with a few modifications [ 35 , 36 , 37 ]. In brief, the phage AH67C600_Q9 was added at the MOI of 10 and allowed to absorb to E. coli AH67C600 cells for 10 min at room temperature.…”

Treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii by Specialized ϕTZ Bacteriophage and Studying of pH Effect on Bacteriophage Stability and Efficacy

“…Phages were diluted in test tubes containing 9 ml; of liquid medium adjusted to various pH degrees using 0.1 N HCl and/or 0.1 N NaOH (i.e. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13) according to [13]. After incubation of the mixtures at 4°C overnight, the residual phage activity was determined by plaque assay technique [13].…”

“…3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13) according to [13]. After incubation of the mixtures at 4°C overnight, the residual phage activity was determined by plaque assay technique [13].…”