Abstract
Two newly discovered bacteriophages, isolated from chicken feces and infecting Salmonella enterica strains, are described in this report. These phages have been named vB_Sen-TO17 and vB_Sen-E22, and we present their molecular and functional characterization. Both studied viruses are able to infect several S. enterica strains and develop lytically, but their specific host ranges differ significantly. Electron microscopic analyses of virions have been performed, and full genome sequences were determined and characterized, along with molecular phylogenetic studies. Genomes of vB_Sen-TO17 (ds DNA of 41,658 bp) and vB_Sen-E22 (dsDNA of 108,987 bp) are devoid of homologs of any known or putative gene coding for toxins or any other proteins potentially deleterious for eukaryotic cells. Both phages adsorbed efficiently (>95% adsorbed virions) within 10 min at 42 °C (resembling chicken body temperature) on cells of most tested host strains. Kinetics of lytic development of vB_Sen-TO17 and vB_Sen-E22, determined in one-step growth experiments, indicated that development is complete within 30–40 min at 42 °C, whereas burst sizes vary from 9 to 79 progeny phages per cell for vB_Sen-TO17 and from 18 to 64 for vB_Sen-E22, depending on the host strain. Virions of both phages were relatively stable (from several percent to almost 100% survivability) under various conditions, including acidic and alkaline pH values (from 3 to 12), temperatures from −80 °C to 60 °C, 70% ethanol, chloroform, and 10% DMSO. These characteristics of vB_Sen-TO17 and vB_Sen-E22 indicate that these phages might be considered in further studies on phage therapy, particularly in attempts to eliminate S. enterica from chicken intestine.
Highlights
Among various foodborne pathogenic bacteria, Salmonella enterica is one of the major infection agents responsible for human diseases caused by contamination of poultry-derived products [1]
Since each phage is specific to particular serovars or strains, a large collection of bacteriophages is required for effective phage therapy
It is crucial that genomes of bacteriophages used in phage therapy are devoid of any genes coding for toxins or other proteins which are detrimental for humans or animals
Summary
Among various foodborne pathogenic bacteria, Salmonella enterica is one of the major infection agents responsible for human diseases caused by contamination of poultry-derived products [1]. Since phages are usually very specific to their hosts, such collections should be large to give a possibility of finding viruses capable of propagation in a particular bacterial strain isolated from patients or infected animals. Such bacteriophages must not contain genes coding for toxins and other proteins that might cause damage of human or animal cells. It is still necessary to isolate previously unknown bacteriophages and to characterize them [9,10,11]
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