Isolation and Characterization of Gardnerella Phage vB_Gva_AB1, a Bacteriophage Infecting a Clinical Strain of Gardnerella vaginalis

Abstract

Gardnerella vaginalis is the presumed causative agent of bacterial vaginosis. Here, we describe the complete genome sequence of Gardnerella phage vB_Gva_AB1, induced from a vaginal bacterial strain from a woman suffering with bacterial vaginosis. The phage double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome is 50,268 bp long with a GC content of 39.55% and contains 62 predicted open reading frames.

Identification and characterization of novel endolysins targeting Gardnerella vaginalis biofilms to treat bacterial vaginosis

“…Given the clear clinical need for novel BV therapeutics, and the association of growth with the dysbiosis, it was aimed to identify endolysins to target this problem pathobiont. After an extensive literature search, no publications describing the isolation of lytic phages infecting G. vaginalis species were found, however attempts to induce phage of lysogenic lifestyle have been recently attempted 24 . However, we hypothesized that prophages encoded in the genomes of different G. vaginalis strains represented an alternate source of phage lytic proteins targeting this pathobiont.…”

Myriad applications of bacteriophages beyond phage therapy

“…Another dysbiosis that potentially could be treated with bacteriophages is vaginosis, which is caused by the overgrowth of Gardnerella vaginalis , a natural inhabitant of the female genital tract that is normally non harmful unless it overgrows. Vaginosis is usually treated with the antibiotics clindamycin or metronidazole but relapses frequently; hence, phage therapy could be another alternative to combat this common dysbiosis ( Bordigoni, Bouchard & Desnues, 2021 ). Also, in a more generic way, phages can be added to prebiotic and probiotic formulations to enhance their health promoting effects by reducing the growth of potentially harmful bacteria ( Kiani et al, 2020 ) or by decreasing bacterial competitors of health-promoting species.…”

“…Currently most of the applications for phage therapy described here are still in their early stages, and much more basic research is needed. For example, research is needed to expand the repertoire of lytic phages against H. pylori , C. difficile and G. vaginalis , since to date only a few phages able to infect them have been described and some of them are lysogenic rather than lytic ( Bordigoni, Bouchard & Desnues, 2021 ), making it necessary to identify more suitable phages and/or engineer the lysogenic ones to turn them in to lytic. On the other hand, some illnesses originated from dysbioses such as periodontal disease, are complex since several different bacterial species are implicated acting in a specific spatiotemporal order; hence, the design of phage treatments for the prevention and cure of these diseases needs to take these characteristics into account.…”