Bacteriophage最新文献

Four novel, closely related podoviruses, which displayed lytic activity against the gamma-proteobacterium Alteromonas macleodii, have been isolated and sequenced. Alterophages AltAD45-P1 to P4 were obtained from water recovered near a fish farm in the Mediterranean Sea. Their morphology indicates that they belong to the Podoviridae. Their linear and dsDNA genomes are 100-104 kb in size, remarkably larger than any other described podovirus. The four AltAD45-phages share 99% nucleotide sequence identity over 97% of their ORFs, although an insertion was found in AltAD45-P1 and P2 and some regions were slightly more divergent. Despite the high overall sequence similarity among these four phages, the group with the insertion and the group without it, have different host ranges against the A. macleodii strains tested. The AltAD45-P1 to P4 phages have genes for DNA replication and transcription as well as structural genes, which are similar to the N4-like Podoviridae genus that is widespread in proteobacteria. However, in terms of their genomic structure, AltAD45-P1 to P4 differ from that of the N4-like phages. Some distinguishing features include the lack of a large virion encapsidated RNA polymerase gene, very well conserved among all the previously described N4-like phages, a single-stranded DNA binding protein and different tail protein genes. We conclude that the AltAD45 phages characterized in this study constitute a new genus within the Podoviridae.

Psu, a 20-kD bacteriophage P4 capsid decorating protein moonlights as a transcription antiterminator of the Rho-dependent termination. Psu forms specific complex with E.coli Rho protein, and affects the latter's ATP-dependent translocase activity along the nascent RNA. It forms a unique knotted dimer to take a V-shaped structure. The C-terminal helix of Psu makes specific contacts with a disordered region of Rho, encompassing the residues 139-153. An energy minimized structural model of the Rho-Psu complex reveals that the V-shaped Psu dimer forms a lid over the central channel of the Rho hexamer. This configuration of Psu causes a mechanical impediment to the translocase activity of Rho. The knowledge of structural and mechanistic basis of inhibition of Rho action by Psu may help to design peptide inhibitors for the conserved Rho-dependent transcription termination process of bacteria.

The circuitry of the phage λ genetic switch determining the outcome of lytic or lysogenic growth is well-integrated and complex, raising the question as to how it evolved. It is plausible that it arose from a simpler ancestral switch with fewer components that underwent various additions and refinements, as it adapted to vast numbers of different hosts and conditions. We have recently identified a new class of genetic switches found in mycobacteriophages and other prophages, in which immunity is dependent on integration. These switches contain only three genes (integrase, repressor and cro) and represent a major departure from the λ-like circuitry, lacking many features such as xis, cII and cIII. These small self-contained switches represent an unrealized, elegant circuitry for controlling infection outcome. In this addendum, we propose a model of possible events in the evolution of a complex λ-like switch from a simpler integration-dependent switch.

The effect of a bacteriophage cocktail (EcoShield™) that is specific against Escherichia coli O157:H7 was evaluated against a nalidixic acid-resistant enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 RM4407 (EHEC) strain on leafy greens stored under either (1) ambient air or (2) modified atmosphere (MA; 5% O₂/35% CO₂/60% N₂). Pieces (~2 × 2 cm²) of leafy greens (lettuce and spinach) inoculated with 4.5 log CFU/cm² EHEC were sprayed with EcoShield™ (6.5 log PFU/cm²). Samples were stored at 4 or 10°C for up to 15 d. On spinach, the level of EHEC declined by 2.38 and 2.49 log CFU/cm² at 4 and 10°C, respectively, 30 min after phage application (p ≤ 0.05). EcoShield™ was also effective in reducing EHEC on the surface of green leaf lettuce stored at 4°C by 2.49 and 3.28 log units in 30 min and 2 h, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). At 4°C under atmospheric air, the phage cocktail significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lowered the EHEC counts in one day by 1.19, 3.21 and 3.25 log CFU/cm² on spinach, green leaf and romaine lettuce, respectively compared with control (no bacteriophage) treatments. When stored under MA at 4°C, phages reduced (p ≤ 0.05) EHEC populations by 2.18, 3.50 and 3.13 log CFU/cm², on spinach, green leaf and romaine lettuce. At 10°C, EHEC reductions under atmospheric air storage were 1.99, 3.90 and 3.99 log CFU/cm² (p ≤ 0.05), while population reductions under MA were 3.08, 3.89 and 4.34 logs on spinach, green leaf and romaine lettuce, respectively, compared with controls (p ≤ 0.05). The results of this study showed that bacteriophages were effective in reducing the levels of E. coli O157:H7 on fresh leafy produce, and that the reduction was further improved when produce was stored under the MA conditions.

Anna Sergeyevna Tikhonenko (1925-2010) is to be remembered for the excellency of her electron microscopical work, particularly with bacteriophages. She published 113 articles and one book, Ultrastructure of Bacterial Viruses (Izdadelstvo Nauka, Moscow 1968; Plenum Press, New York, 1972). It included 134 micrographs and a complete overview of the 316 phages then examined by electron microscopy. Most micrographs were of exceptional quality. This book, a rarity in those days of strict separation of Soviet and Western research, was the first bacteriophage atlas in the literature and presented a morphological classification of phages into five categories of family level, similar to a scheme presented in 1965 by D.E. Bradley (J Royal Microsc Soc 84:257-316). Her book remains one of the fundamentals of phage research.

The control of shigellosis in humans enjoys a prominent position in the history of bacteriophage therapy. d'Herelle first demonstrated the efficacy of phage therapy by curing 4 patients of shigellosis, and several subsequent studies confirmed the ability of phages to reduce Shigella based infection. Shigella spp continue to cause millions of illnesses and deaths each year and the use of phages to control the disease in humans and the spread of the bacteria within food and water could point the way forward to the effective management of an infectious disease with global influence.

Although the study of phage infection has a long history and catalyzed much of our current understanding in bacterial genetics, molecular biology, evolution and ecology, it seems that microbiologists have only just begun to explore the intricacy of phage-host interactions. In a recent manuscript by Cenens et al. we found molecular and genetic support for pseudolysogenic development in the Salmonella Typhimurium-phage P22 model system. More specifically, we observed the existence of phage carrier cells harboring an episomal P22 element that segregated asymmetrically upon subsequent divisions. Moreover, a newly discovered P22 ORFan protein (Pid) able to derepress a metabolic operon of the host (dgo) proved to be specifically expressed in these phage carrier cells. In this addendum we expand on our view regarding pseudolysogeny and its effects on bacterial and phage biology.

The role of lytic bacteriophages in preventing cross contamination of produce has not been evaluated. A cocktail of three lytic phages specific for E. coli O157:H7 (EcoShield™) or a control (phosphate buffered saline, PBS) was applied to lettuce by either; (1) immersion of lettuce in 500 ml of EcoShield™ 8.3 log PFU/ml or 9.8 log PFU/ml for up to 2 min before inoculation with E. coli O157:H7; (2) spray-application of EcoShield™ (9.3 log PFU/ml) to lettuce after inoculation with E. coli O157:H7 (4.10 CFU/cm²) following exposure to 50 μg/ml chlorine for 30 sec. After immersion studies, lettuce was spot-inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 (2.38 CFU/cm²). Phage-treated, inoculated lettuce pieces were stored at 4°C for and analyzed for E. coli O157:H7 populations for up to 7 d. Immersion of lettuce in 9.8 log PFU/ml EcoShield™ for 2 min significantly (p < 0.05) reduced E. coli O157:H7 populations after 24 h when stored at 4°C compared with controls. Immersion of lettuce in suspensions containing high concentrations of EcoShield™ (9.8 log PFU/ml) resulted in the deposition of high concentrations (7.8 log log PFU/cm²) of bacteriophages on the surface of fresh cut lettuce, potentially contributing to the efficacy of the lytic phages on lettuce. Spraying phages on to inoculated fresh cut lettuce after being washed in hypochlorite solution was significantly more effective in reducing E. coli O157:H7 populations (2.22 log CFU/cm²) on day 0 compared with control treatments (4.10 log CFU/cm²). Both immersion and spray treatments provided protection from E. coli O157:H7 contamination on lettuce, but spray application of lytic bacteriophages to lettuce was more effective in immediately reducing E. coli O157:H7 populations fresh cut lettuce.

Bacteriophage therapy, the use of viruses that infect bacteria as antimicrobials, has been championed as a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics. Although in the laboratory bacterial resistance against phages arises rapidly, resistance so far has been an only minor problem for the effectiveness of phage therapy. Resistance to antibiotics, however, has become a major issue after decades of extensive use. Should we expect similar problems after long-term use of phages as antimicrobials? Like antibiotics, phages are often noted to be drivers of bacterial evolution. Should we expect phage-treated pathogens to develop a general resistance to phages over time, a resistance against which only, for example, hypothetically co-evolved phages might be infective? Here we argue that the global infection patterns of phages suggest that this is not necessarily a concern as environmental phages often can infect bacteria with which those phages lack any recent co-evolutionary history.