Abstract
Clostridium perfringens is one of the most common causes of food-borne illness. The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria requires the development of alternatives to typical antimicrobial treatments. Here, we isolated and characterized a C. perfringens-specific virulent bacteriophage CPS2 from chicken feces. The CPS2 phage contains a 17,961 bp double-stranded DNA genome with 25 putative ORFs, and belongs to the Picovirinae, subfamily of Podoviridae. Bioinformatic analysis of the CPS2 genome revealed a putative endolysin, LysCPS2, which is homologous to the endolysin of Clostridium phage phiZP2 and phiCP7R. The enzyme showed strong lytic activity against C. perfringens with optimum conditions at pH 7.5–10, 25–65 °C, and over a broad range of NaCl concentrations. Interestingly, LysCPS2 was found to be highly thermostable, with up to 30% of its lytic activity remaining after 10 min of incubation at 95 °C. The cell wall binding domain in the C-terminal region of LysCPS2 showed a binding spectrum specific to C. perfringens strains. This is the first report to characterize highly thermostable endolysin isolated from virulent C. perfringens bacteriophage. The enzyme can be used as an alternative biocontrol and detection agent against C. perfringens.
Highlights
Clostridium perfringens is a Gram-positive anaerobic bacterium that has the ability to form spores [1]
C. perfringens is responsible for a wide range of diseases: including gas gangrene, necrotic enteritis, and non-foodborne gastrointestinal infections [2]
C. perfringens has become a significant problem in the poultry industry because it is a causative agent of necrotic enteritis, characterized by outbreaks with high mortality and small intestinal mucosal necrosis [4]
Summary
Clostridium perfringens is a Gram-positive anaerobic bacterium that has the ability to form spores [1]. Most CPE-positive stains are classified as type A, and food poisoning by cpe-producing C. perfringens type A is the second most common foodborne illness in developed countries [3]. C. perfringens has become a significant problem in the poultry industry because it is a causative agent of necrotic enteritis, characterized by outbreaks with high mortality and small intestinal mucosal necrosis [4]. There have been few reports on C. perfringens phage endolysins. N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase of φ3626 phage were isolated from lysogenic C. perfringens strains and characterized [7,8]. Two endolysins from the clostridial phages ΦCP39O and ΦCP26F have been reported to have lytic activity against C. perfringens stains [10]. The gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the purified endolysin was biochemically characterized for its potential as an antimicrobial and a detection agent
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