Isolation, characterization and application of a polyvalent phage capable of controlling Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in different food matrices

• Published in: Food research international Vol. 131; p. 108977
• Main Authors: Duc, Hoang Minh, Son, Hoang Minh, Yi, Hazel Pang Shu, Sato, Jun, Ngan, Pham Hong, Masuda, Yoshimitsu, Honjoh, Ken-ichi, Miyamoto, Takahisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2020
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteriophage; Bacteriophages - genetics; Bacteriophages - physiology; Bio-control; Chickens; E. coli O157:H7; Escherichia coli O157 - virology; Food Microbiology; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; Meat - microbiology; Phylogeny; Salmonella; Salmonella enteritidis - virology; Salmonella typhimurium - virology; Viral Proteins - genetics; Viral Proteins - metabolism; Salmonella; E. coli O157:H7; Bacteriophage; Bio-control
• ISSN: 0963-9969; 1873-7145
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.108977

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•Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 phages were isolated from chicken products.•Polyvalent phage PS5 was characterized by host range, morphology, one-step growth, stability and genome sequencing.•PS5 significantly reduced S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 in in vitro and in foods.
Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 are the most important foodborne pathogens, causing serious food poisoning outbreaks worldwide. Bacteriophages are increasingly considered as novel antibacterial agents to control foodborne pathogens. In this study, 8 Salmonella phages and 10 E. coli O157:H7 phages were isolated from chicken products. A polyvalent phage PS5 capable of infecting S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, and E. coli O157:H7 was further characterized and its efficacy in reducing these foodborne pathogens was evaluated in in vitro and in foods. Morphology, one-step growth, and stability assay showed that phage PS5 was a myovirus, with relatively short latent periods, large burst sizes, and high stability. Genome sequencing analysis revealed that the genome of PS5 does not contain any genes associated to antibiotic resistance, toxins, lysogeny, and virulence factors. In broth, phage PS5 significantly decreased the viable counts of all the three bacterial hosts by more than 1.3 log CFU/mL compared to controls after 2 h of incubation at 4 °C and 24 °C. In foods, treatment with PS5 also resulted in significant reductions of viable counts of all the three bacterial hosts compared to controls at temperatures tested. This is the first report on single phage capable of simultaneously controlling S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 in both in vitro and in foods.