Characterization of the novel temperate Staphylococcus haemolyticus phage IME1365_01

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Bacteriology
• Virology

Background:

• Bacterial infections, particularly those caused by drug-resistant strains, pose a significant global health challenge.
• Temperate phages represent a promising avenue for therapeutic interventions against bacteria.
• Efficient methods for discovering and characterizing novel phages are crucial for advancing phage therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a platform for predicting, identifying, and inducing novel functional temperate phages from bacterial hosts.
• To characterize the morphology, genome, and potential antimicrobial components of a newly discovered Staphylococcus phage, IME1365_01.

Main Methods:

• Bacterial high-throughput sequencing for phage prediction.
• Mitomycin C induction for phage isolation.
• Transmission electron microscopy for phage morphology.
• Genome sequencing and bioinformatic analysis (BLASTn, ORF identification).

Main Results:

• Successfully induced a novel functional temperate phage, IME1365_01, from Staphylococcus haemolyticus.
• IME1365_01 possesses an icosahedral head (43 nm) and a long tail (172 nm), with a dsDNA genome of 44,875 bp.
• The genome contains 63 putative ORFs, including one (ORF24) with a Toll-interleukin-1 receptor domain, potentially involved in anti-bacterial activity.
• Phage IME1365_01 shows limited homology (26%) to known Staphylococcus phages.

Conclusions:

• A robust platform for obtaining active temperate phages from prediction to induction has been established.
• The characterized phage IME1365_01 and its anti-bacterial elements hold potential for therapeutic applications against bacterial infections.
• Mass screening using this platform can yield numerous temperate phages for combating drug-resistant bacterial infections.