268 research outputs found
Genome sequence of the broad-host-range Pseudomonas phage Phi-S1
The broad-host-range lytic Pseudomonas phage Φ-S1 possess a 40,192 bp double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome of 47 open reading frames (ORFs) and belongs to the family Podoviridae, subfamily Autographivirinae, genus T7likevirus.S.S. acknowledges the financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (grant SFRH/BPD/48803/2008) and the FCT project PTDC/EBB-BIO/114760/2009
The use of bacteriophages to control biofilms
Este resumo faz parte de: Book of abstracts of the Meeting of the Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2, Braga, Portugal, 2010. A versão completa do livro de atas está disponÃvel em: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/1096
Phage control of dual species biofilms of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Staphylococcus lentus
Despite the recent enthusiasm for using bacteriophages as bacterial control agents, there are only limited studies
concerning phage interaction with their respective hosts residing in mixed biofilm consortia and especially in biofilms
where the host species is a minor constituent. In the present work, a study was made of mono and dual species
biofilms formed by Pseudomonas fluorescens (Gram-negative) and/or Staphylococcus lentus (Gram-positive) and
their fate after infection with phages. The dual species biofilms consisted predominantly of S. lentus. The exposure of
these biofilms to a cocktail containing both P. fluorescens and S. lentus phages effectively killed and removed the
hosts from the substratum. Additionally, this cocktail approach also controlled the hosts released from the biofilms
to the planktonic phase. The ability of phages to control a host population present in minority in the mixed species
biofilm was also assessed. For this objective, the biofilms were challenged only with phage øIBB-PF7A, specific for
P. fluorescens and the results obtained were to some extent unpredicted. First, øIBB-PF7A readily reached the target
host and caused a significant population decrease. Secondly, and surprisingly, this phage was also capable of causing
partial damage to the biofilms leading to the release of the non-susceptible host (S. lentus) from the dual species
biofilms to the planktonic phase. The efficiency of phage treatment of biofilms was to some extent dependent on the
number of cells present and also conditioned by the infection strategy (dynamic or static) utilized in the infection of
the biofilms. Nevertheless, in most circumstances phages were well capable of controlling their target hosts.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Isolation and characterization of a T7-like lytic phage for Pseudomonas fluorescens
Background: Despite the proven relevance of Pseudomonas fluorescens as a spoilage
microorganism in milk, fresh meats and refrigerated food products and the recognized potential of
bacteriophages as sanitation agents, so far no phages specific for P. fluorescens isolates from dairy
industry have been closely characterized in view of their lytic efficiency. Here we describe the
isolation and characterization of a lytic phage capable to infect a variety of P. fluorescens strains
isolated from Portuguese and United States dairy industries.
Results: Several phages were isolated which showed a different host spectrum and efficiency of
lysis. One of the phages, phage Ï•IBB-PF7A, was studied in detail due to its efficient lysis of a wide
spectrum of P. fluorescens strains and ribotypes. Phage Ï•IBB-PF7A with a head diameter of about
63 nm and a tail size of about 13 × 8 nm belongs morphologically to the Podoviridae family and
resembles a typical T7-like phage, as analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The
phage growth cycle with a detected latent period of 15 min, an eclipse period of 10 min, a burst
size of 153 plaque forming units per infected cell, its genome size of approximately 42 kbp, and the
size and N-terminal sequence of one of the protein bands, which gave similarity to the major capsid
protein 10A, are consistent with this classification.
Conclusion: The isolated T7-like phage, phage Ï•IBB-PF7A, is fast and efficient in lysing different P.
fluorescens strains and may be a good candidate to be used as a sanitation agent to control the
prevalence of spoilage causing P. fluorescens strains in dairy and food related environments.Quebec, Canada; Portuguese Foundation
for Science and Technology (FCT).Cornell University, N.Y., U.S.A.; Laval University
The use of bacteriophages for P. aeruginosa biofilm control
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a relevant opportunistic pathogen frequently associated with several nosocomial infections and, worryingly, this bacterium shows a low antibiotic susceptibility. One of its virulence factors is related with the ability to adhere to surfaces and also human epithelium and form virulent biofllms. This work describes the isolation and characterization of lytic phages capable to infect antibiotic resistant P. aeruginosa strains. It is also described herein the potential of the new isolated phages for planktonic cells and biofilm control. According to the results of this work, the isolated phages showed different spectra of activity and most of them were efficient even against P. aeruginosa multidrug resistant strains. Furthermore, the biofilm infection assays revealed that phages can be a good strategy to combat virulent biofilms achieving significant reductions in the number of biofilm cells.(undefined
The use of bacteriophages against P. aeruginosa biofilms
P. aeruginosa is a relevant opportunistic pathogen involved in nosocomial infections and, worryingly, it frequently shows a low antibiotic susceptibility. One of its virulence factors is associated with the ability to adhere to surfaces and form virulent biofilms. This work describes the use of newly isolated broad host lytic phages (T7-like), capable to infect antibiotic resistant P. aeruginosa strains, to control planktonic and biofilm cells. Furthermore, it characterizes phage-resistant mutants phenotypes which arose after biofilm treatment with phages. Two of the phages used (phages phiIBB-PAA2 and phiIBB-PAP21) caused a great biomass reduction of planktonic cells, and when tested against 24 hours old biofilms, using a MOI of 1, reduced already after 2 hours of infection the amounts of viable cells by approximately 1 - 2 log and, this reduction was further enhanced after 6 hours of biofilm infection. However, P. aeruginosa PAO1, after 24 hours in contact with phiIBB-PAP21, acquired resistance to the phage which led to an increase in the amount of biofilm cells. Conversely, after 24 hours, phage phiIB-PAA2 for P. aeruginosa ATCC10145 continued to destroy cells. Based on morphological analysis of the colonies, five different P. aeruginosa phenotypes were isolated, after 72 hours of P. aeruginosa ATCC 10145 biofilm infection with phage phiIBB-PAA2, and only one remained susceptible to the phage. Furthermore, all phage-resistant phenotypes revealed a reduced ability to form biofilms resulting in lower amounts of biomass and viable cells in 24 hours old biofilms and, after 48 hours of biofilm formation, 3 out of these 5 strains continued to form less biofilm compared to the parental strain suggesting that these strains have an attenuated virulence. Overall, the phages used in this work showed a great capacity in infecting a wide number of antibiotic resistant strains and also control biofilms. Nevertheless, we found that phage-resistant phenotypes can arise quickly after exposure of biofilms to phages
Isolation of novel bacteriophages for the control of P. aeruginosa biofilms
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most common gram-negative bacterium involve in nosocomial infections and, worryingly, it frequently shows a low antibiotic susceptibility. Additionally, P. aeruginosa has an inapt ability to adhere to surfaces and form virulent biofilms which are particularly difficult to eradicate. In this way, there is a need to develop new antimicrobial agents as an alternative to antibiotherapy and bacteriophages (phages) appear as one attractive solution for this problem. This work describes the isolation and characterization of novel phages and their application for planktonic and biofilm cell control. 17 different phages were isolated from hospital effluents and were tested against 35 antibiotic multi-resistant clinical strains provided by the São Marcos Hospital (Braga). Four of these phages, showing broad lytic spectra, were selected and their efficacy against planktonic cells was studied. Despite the superior lytic spectra exhibited by the selected phages, two of them were not efficient against their hosts and therefore were not chosen for biofilm control experiments. Meanwhile, the other 2 phages (phages phiIBB-PAA2 and phiIBB-PAP21), well capable of causing a great biomass reduction of planktonic cells, were tested against 24 hours old biofilms using different multiplicities of infection (MOI). Both phages caused an approximately 2 log reduction of biofilm-cells, already after 2 hours and the reduction was further enhanced after 6 hours of biofilm treatment, independently of the MOI. The main dissimilarity between the two phage-host systems concerns the biofilm-cell resistance to the phages. In brief, biofilm-cells of P. aeruginosa PAO1, the host of phage phiIBB-PAP21, acquired resistance to the phage and consequently an increase on the amount of cells after 24 hours of infection was observed. On the other hand, phage phiIBB-PAA2 continued to destroy the biofilms of P. aeruginosa ATCC 10145 and there were no evidences of cells becoming resistant, even after 24 hours of infection. This work shows that the two selected phages are well capable of controlling biofilms; however short treatment prevents the emergence of phage resistant hosts
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