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Isolation and characterization of a novel bacteriophage φ4D lytic against Enterococcus faecalis strains

Sylwia Parasion1, Magdalena Kwiatek, Lidia Mizak

  • 1Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Lubelska Str. 2, 24-100 Puławy, Poland. sparasion@gmail.com

Current Microbiology
|June 7, 2012
PubMed

Insights

A novel bacteriophage, φ4D, was isolated and characterized for its potential as a therapeutic agent against Enterococcus faecalis infections. This virulent phage shows promise for phage therapy due to its broad host range and Myoviridae family characteristics.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Virology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Enterococcus faecalis is a significant cause of hospital-acquired infections.
  • There is a critical need for new treatments against resistant bacterial strains.
  • Bacteriophage therapy offers a promising alternative to antibiotics with a favorable safety profile.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To isolate and characterize a novel virulent bacteriophage, named φ4D, from sewage.
  • To evaluate the potential of φ4D as a therapeutic agent against Enterococcus faecalis.

Main Methods:

  • Isolation and purification of bacteriophage φ4D from sewage.
  • Electron microscopy for morphological characterization (head and tail dimensions).
  • Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis for genome size estimation.
  • Assays for latent period, burst size, host range, thermal stability, and proteomic analysis.

Main Results:

  • φ4D exhibits Myoviridae morphology with an isometric head (74 ± 4 nm) and contractile tail (164 ± 4 nm).
  • The phage genome size was estimated at 145 ± 2 kb.
  • φ4D demonstrated a short latent period (25 min) and a burst size of 36 PFU/cell.
  • The phage effectively infected a wide range of enterococcal strains.

Conclusions:

  • The characterized bacteriophage φ4D is a virulent Myoviridae phage.
  • φ4D shows potential for use in phage therapy against Enterococcus faecalis infections.
  • Its properties are comparable to other Myoviridae phages successfully employed in therapeutic applications.

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