Abstract
BackgroundEscherichia coli O157:H7 and Shigella flexneri are well-known food-borne pathogens causing severe food poisoning at low infectious doses. Bacteriophages have been approved for food applications by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have been suggested as natural food preservatives to control specific food-borne pathogens. To develop a novel natural food preservative against E. coli O157:H7 and S. flexneri, a new bacteriophage needs to be isolated and characterized.Methodology/Principal FindingsBacteriophage HY01 infecting both E. coli O157:H7 and S. flexneri was isolated from a swine fecal sample. HY01 belongs to the family Myoviridae and is stable under various temperature and pH conditions. One-step growth curve analysis showed relatively short eclipse and latent periods as well as large burst size. The 167-kb genome sequence of HY01 was sequenced, and a comparative genome analysis with T4 for non-O157:H7 E. coli suggests that the receptor recognition protein of HY01 plays an important role in determination of host recognition and specificity. In addition, food applications using edible cabbage were conducted with two E. coli O157:H7 strains (ATCC 43890 and ATCC 43895), showing that treatment with HY01 inhibits these clinical and food isolates with >2 log reductions in bacterial load during the first 2 h of incubation.Conclusions/SignificanceHY01 can inhibit both E. coli O157:H7 and S. flexneri with large burst size and stability under stress conditions. The ability of HY01 to infect both E. coli O157:H7 and S. flexneri may be derived from the presence of two different host specificity-associated tail genes in the genome. Food applications revealed the specific ability of HY01 to inhibit both pathogens in food, suggesting its potential as a novel biocontrol agent or novel natural food preservative against E. coli O157:H7 and potentially S. flexneri.
Highlights
Escherichia coli O157:H7 is one of the major food-borne pathogens causing enteric illnesses including abdominal cramps, diarrhea, hemolytic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and even kidney failure in humans, with an estimated minimum infectious dose of 101 to 102 colony forming units (CFU) [1]
Bacteriophages have been approved for food applications by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have been suggested as natural food preservatives to control specific food-borne pathogens
To control the food-borne pathogens E. coli O157:H7 and S. flexneri, a novel HY01 phage was isolated from a swine fecal sample using E. coli O157:H7 ATCC 43890 as an indicator strain
Summary
Escherichia coli O157:H7 is one of the major food-borne pathogens causing enteric illnesses including abdominal cramps, diarrhea, hemolytic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and even kidney failure in humans, with an estimated minimum infectious dose of 101 to 102 CFU [1]. Shigella flexneri is another wide-spread food-borne pathogen causing human diarrhea termed “shigellosis.” These bacteria are responsible for food poisoning outbreaks worldwide through various foods, such as ground meat, raw milk, apple cider, and fresh vegetables. Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Shigella flexneri are well-known food-borne pathogens causing severe food poisoning at low infectious doses. To develop a novel natural food preservative against E. coli O157:H7 and S. flexneri, a new bacteriophage needs to be isolated and characterized
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