Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 21, 2026
Rapid and Specific Detection of Acinetobacter baumannii Infections Using a Recombinase Polymerase Amplification/Cas12a-based System
Published on: April 25, 2025
Discovery, Induction, and Screening of Prophages in Clinical Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates
Jessica Trinh1, Vivek K Mutalik2, Catherine M Mageeney1
1Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California, USA.
Background:
Acinetobacter baumannii is a common bacterial pathogen in nosocomial infections. It has become one of the greatest threats to human health for its growing resistance to "last resort" antibiotics, which has led to a revival of phage therapy as a potential treatment. However, conventional methods for isolating A. baumannii-infecting phages are labor-intensive and often unsuccessful.
Methods:
Our approach involves a computational pipeline to identify temperate phages (prophages) integrated into A. baumannii genomes, followed by mitomycin C (MMC) induction of those strains to screen for active prophages.
Results:
Here we show a prophage analysis for nearly 900 A. baumannii genomes. We observed MMC-triggered excision of nine prophages from eight A. baumannii strains by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and sequencing. Further, we show four prophage-formed virions detectable by transmission electron microscopy and two that can plaque on other A. baumannii isolates.
Conclusion:
This work demonstrates the utility and diversity of prophages for further development as therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant A. baumannii.
Insights
Researchers identified active phages within Acinetobacter baumannii genomes using a computational approach and mitomycin C induction. This study highlights the potential of these prophages as novel therapeutics against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genomics
- Bacteriophage Therapy
Background:
- Acinetobacter baumannii is a significant cause of hospital-acquired infections.
- Increasing antibiotic resistance in A. baumannii necessitates alternative treatments like phage therapy.
- Traditional phage isolation methods are often inefficient and time-consuming.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an efficient method for identifying and isolating Acinetobacter baumannii-infecting phages.
- To explore the therapeutic potential of bacteriophages against multidrug-resistant A. baumannii.
Main Methods:
- A computational pipeline was used to identify prophages within A. baumannii genomes.
- Mitomycin C (MMC) induction was employed to trigger prophage excision from bacterial genomes.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and sequencing confirmed prophage excision, and electron microscopy visualized virions.
Main Results:
- Analysis of nearly 900 A. baumannii genomes identified prophages.
- MMC induction successfully triggered the excision of nine prophages from eight strains.
- Four prophage-formed virions were observed via transmission electron microscopy, and two phages demonstrated lytic activity.
Conclusions:
- This study demonstrates a viable strategy for discovering active phages within bacterial genomes.
- The identified prophages show promise for developing new phage-based therapies against antibiotic-resistant A. baumannii.
- The diversity of identified prophages underscores their potential as therapeutic agents.
