A novel virulent Litunavirus phage possesses therapeutic value against multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a notable nosocomial pathogen that can cause severe infections in humans and animals. The emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa has motivated the development of phages to treat the infections. In this study, a novel Pseudomonas phage, vB_PaeS_VL1 (VL1), was isolated from urban sewage. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that VL1 is a novel species in the genus Litunavirus of subfamily Migulavirinae. The VL1 is a virulent phage as no genes encoding lysogeny, toxins or antibiotic resistance were identified. The therapeutic potential of phage VL1 was investigated and revealed that approximately 56% (34/60 strains) of MDR P. aeruginosa strains, isolated from companion animal diseases, could be lysed by VL1. In contrast, VL1 did not lyse other Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria suggesting its specificity of infection. Phage VL1 demonstrated high efficiency to reduce bacterial load (~ 6 log cell number reduction) and ~ 75% reduction of biofilm in pre-formed biofilms of MDR P. aeruginosa. The result of two of the three MDR P. aeruginosa infected Galleria mellonella larvae showed that VL1 could significantly increase the survival rate of infected larvae. Taken together, phage VL1 has genetic and biological properties that make it a potential candidate for phage therapy against P. aeruginosa infections.

Therapeutic effect and anti-biofilm ability assessment of a novel phage, phiPA1-3, against carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…In the phiPA1-3 genome, we found a tail fiber product containing the SGNH hydrolase domain, which is a good candidate for further study. phiPA1-3 has a larger burst size (619 PFU/infected cell) than those of YH6 (approximately 100 phages per cell) and VL1 (approximately 404 phages per cell) ( Lerdsittikul et al., 2022 ), a newly published Pseudomonas phage similar to YH6. A large burst size has the potential to increase the efficiency of phage therapy and lower the possibility of emergence of phage-resistant bacteria ( Lerdsittikul et al., 2022 ).…”

“…phiPA1-3 has a larger burst size (619 PFU/infected cell) than those of YH6 (approximately 100 phages per cell) and VL1 (approximately 404 phages per cell) ( Lerdsittikul et al., 2022 ), a newly published Pseudomonas phage similar to YH6. A large burst size has the potential to increase the efficiency of phage therapy and lower the possibility of emergence of phage-resistant bacteria ( Lerdsittikul et al., 2022 ). Apart from the large burst size of phiPA1-3, its widely adapted stability and bacterial killing ( Fig.…”

A novel lytic phage exhibiting a remarkable in vivo therapeutic potential and higher antibiofilm activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…Wastewater samples were collected from Zagazig city, Egypt, for phage isolation by enrichment procedure as described previously [ 29 ]. Briefly, wastewater samples were centrifugated (6000 × g , 10 min), then the supernatant was filtrated through a 0.4-μm sterilized syringe filter.…”

Successful phage-antibiotic therapy of P. aeruginosa implant-associated infection in a Siamese cat

“…However, when it comes to companion animals, phage therapy cases are scarcely described, with most of the published works demonstrating the potential of phages against pathogens isolated from pets primarily in in vitro settings (Lerdsittikul et al. 2022 ; Santos et al. 2022 ; Freitag et al.…”