In Vitro Evaluation of a Phage Cocktail Controlling Infections with Escherichia coli

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 12; no. 12; p. 1470
• Main Authors: Korf, Imke H E, Kittler, Sophie, Bierbrodt, Anna, Mengden, Ruth, Rohde, Christine, Rohde, Manfred, Kroj, Andrea, Lehnherr, Tatiana, Fruth, Angelika, Flieger, Antje, Lehnherr, Hansjörg, Wittmann, Johannes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 19-12-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Bacterial infections; Bacteriolysis; bacteriophages; Bacteriophages - genetics; biofilm; Biofilms; colibacillosis; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; E coli; Efficiency; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Infections - prevention & control; Escherichia coli Infections - veterinary; Experiments; Food contamination & poisoning; Genome, Viral; Host range; Humans; Infections; Microscopy; Morphology; Multidrug resistance; multidrug-resistant bacteria; phage cocktail; Phage Therapy; Phages; Poultry; Poultry Diseases - prevention & control; Resistant mutant; United States > US; Germany; phage-resistant variants; phage cocktail; APEC; bacteriophages; biofilm; multidrug-resistant bacteria; E. coli; colibacillosis
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v12121470

Worldwide, poultry industry suffers from infections caused by avian pathogenic
. Therapeutic failure due to resistant bacteria is of increasing concern and poses a threat to human and animal health. This causes a high demand to find alternatives to fight bacterial infections in animal farming. Bacteriophages are being especially considered for the control of multi-drug resistant bacteria due to their high specificity and lack of serious side effects. Therefore, the study aimed on characterizing phages and composing a phage cocktail suitable for the prevention of infections with
. Six phages were isolated or selected from our collections and characterized individually and in combination with regard to host range, stability, reproduction, and efficacy in vitro. The cocktail consisting of six phages was able to inhibit formation of biofilms by some
strains but not by all. Phage-resistant variants arose when bacterial cells were challenged with a single phage but not when challenged by a combination of four or six phages. Resistant variants arising showed changes in carbon metabolism and/or motility. Genomic comparison of wild type and phage-resistant mutant E28.G28R3 revealed a deletion of several genes putatively involved in phage adsorption and infection.