Characterization of a NovelTequatrovirusPhage from Pristine Stretch of The Ganges River, India, in Reducing Bacterial Load from Sewage Water

Abstract

Effective treatment of wastewater (WW) and its reuse is necessary to meet certain sustainable development goals and a circular economy. Escherichia coli is one of the primary contaminants in the WW, and its extra-intestinal occurrence poses a considerable threat under one health. This study is the first report of a novel broad-spectrum phage (фERS-1) isolated from a pristine stretch of the Ganges River in the biocontrol of E. coli, resistant to 3rd-and 4th generation cephalosporins and aztreonam. This is the first report of a phage from the Tequatrovirus genus to infect P. aeruginosa. The фERS-1 could reduce the abundance of E. coli cells by 8.22 log10 CFU/mL ≤24 hrs. Additionally, ɸ ERS-1 disrupted the biofilm of E. coli with a reduction of 3.88 log10 CFU/mL. Further, ɸ ERS-1 could inhibit biofilm by multiple strains of E. coli and multiple genera (E. coli, S. boydii, and P. aeruginosa). The phage ɸ ERS-1 reduced bacterial counts in raw WW by 2 log10 CFU/mL and 4 log10 CFU/mL reduction in coliform-enriched WW in ≤24 hours. Overall, this study suggests that ɸ ERS-1 could be used as an effective alternative to be combined with other treatments for improving the quality of WW disposal and environmental health by reducing the bacterial load.