Isolation, characterization and complete genome analysis of a novel bacteriophage vB_EfaS-SRH2 against Enterococcus faecalis isolated from periodontitis patients

Abstract

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory condition that can damage soft tissues and supporting teeth. Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen usually living in the oral cavity and plays a critical role in apical periodontitis that significantly threatens human health. The use of bacteriophages as an alternative way to eliminate bacterial infections is a promising approach. E. faecalis was isolated from the depth of dental packets of patients with periodontitis. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using 16 antimicrobial agents. Also, a specific virulent bacteriophage (vB_EfaS-SRH2) with an irregular pentagonal morphology of the head and a non-contractile tail belonging to the Siphoviridae, was isolated from wastewater in East of Isfahan, Iran, and its physiological and genomic specifications were investigated. The genome was double-strand DNA with 38,746 bp length and encoded 62 putative ORFs. In addition, eight Anti-CRISPERs and 30 Rho-dependent terminators were found. No tRNA was found. It had a short latent period of 15 min and a large burst size of ~ 125. No undesirable genes (antibiotic resistance, lysogenic dependence, and virulence factors) were identified in the genome. Based on physiological properties and genomic characteristics, this phage can be used as a suitable choice in phage therapy for periodontitis and root canal infection.

Propylene Glycol Potentiates the Inhibitory Action of CTZ Paste on Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis Isolated from the Root Canal: An In Vitro Study

“…To analyze the antimicrobial susceptibility, we employed a wide range of antibiotics, showing that our clinical isolate E. faecalis exhibited resistance to a large number of them, such as Erythromycin, Streptomycin, and Tetracycline; however, some antibiotics tested showed effectiveness against E. faecalis , such as Ampicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Daptomycin, Gentamicin, Penicillin, and Rifampicin. The aforementioned result differs from Pazhouhnia et al [ 60 ] since they reported a different pattern of antibiotic resistance in several E. faecalis -isolated strains from the root canal of individuals with periodontitis, demonstrating that both isolated strains, theirs and our clinical isolate of E. faecalis , are resistant to Tetracycline, one of the main components of CTZ paste. This highlights the variability in pathogenicity that can be found in different clinical isolates.…”

A review and new perspective on oral bacteriophages: manifestations in the ecology of oral diseases

“…Encouragingly, new bacteriophages against E. faecalis are still being isolated and characterized. For instance, vB_EfaS_LM99 [ 102 ] and vB_EfaS-SRH2 [ 103 ] have relatively narrow host ranges, while vB_EfaH_163 [ 104 ], vB_EfaS-Zip (Zip), and vB_EfaP-Max (Max) [ 105 ] exhibit a wide host lytic range, including both E. faecalis and E. faecium . In addition, vB_EfaS-271 [ 106 , 107 ] and vB_ZEFP [ 108 ] have been demonstrated to lyse E. faecalis in biofilms.…”

Microbiome‐based therapies for periodontitis and peri‐implantitis

“…Phage vB_EfaS‐SRH2 with an irregular pentagonal morphology of the head and a non‐contractile tail belonging to the Siphoviridae can lyse E. faecalis that is related to periodontitis and reduce biofilm mass. It has a DNA genome of 38,746 bp that encodes 62 putative open reading frames (ORFs) (Pazhouhnia et al., 2022). Phage ΦSG005 is a virulent phage against Streptococcus gordonii that resides in oral cavity and causes dental plaque formation (Loo et al., 2000).…”