Viruses 2018, 10(9), 482; https://doi.org/10.3390/v10090482
Characterization of vB_Kpn_F48, a Newly Discovered Lytic Bacteriophage for Klebsiella pneumoniae of Sequence Type 101
Nagaia Ciacci 1,2, Marco Maria D’Andrea 1,2
, Pasquale Marmo 1, Elisa Demattè 3, Francesco Amisano 4, Vincenzo Di Pilato 5, Maurizio Fraziano 1, Pietro Lupetti 6, Gian Maria Rossolini 5,7 and Maria Cristina Thaller 1,*
, Pasquale Marmo 1, Elisa Demattè 3, Francesco Amisano 4, Vincenzo Di Pilato 5, Maurizio Fraziano 1, Pietro Lupetti 6, Gian Maria Rossolini 5,7 and Maria Cristina Thaller 1,*
1
Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, 00133 Rome, Italy
2
Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
3
Center for Integrative Biology, CIBIO, University of Trento, 38122 Trento, Italy
4
InBioS—Center for Protein Engineering, Department of Life Sciences, University of Liège, Sart-Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium
5
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy
6
Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
7
Clinical Microbiology and Virology Unit, Florence Careggi University Hospital, 50134 Florence, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 22 August 2018 / Revised: 5 September 2018 / Accepted: 7 September 2018 / Published: 9 September 2018
(This article belongs to the Section Bacterial Viruses)
Abstract
Resistance to carbapenems in Enterobacteriaceae, including Klebsiella pneumoniae, represents a major clinical problem given the lack of effective alternative antibiotics. Bacteriophages could provide a valuable tool to control the dissemination of antibiotic resistant isolates, for the decolonization of colonized individuals and for treatment purposes. In this work, we have characterized a lytic bacteriophage, named vB_Kpn_F48, specific for K. pneumoniae isolates belonging to clonal group 101. Phage vB_Kpn_F48 was classified as a member of Myoviridae, order Caudovirales, on the basis of transmission electron microscopy analysis. Physiological characterization demonstrated that vB_Kpn_F48 showed a narrow host range, a short latent period, a low burst size and it is highly stable to both temperature and pH variations. High throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis revealed that the phage is characterized by a 171 Kb dsDNA genome that lacks genes undesirable for a therapeutic perspective such integrases, antibiotic resistance genes and toxin encoding genes. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that vB_Kpn_F48 is a T4-like bacteriophage which belongs to a novel genus within the Tevenvirinae subfamily, which we tentatively named “F48virus”. Considering the narrow host range, the genomic features and overall physiological parameters phage vB_Kpn_F48 could be a promising candidate to be used alone or in cocktails for phage therapy applications. View Full-TextKeywords:
bacteriophage; Tevenvirinae; Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC); K. pneumoniae; sequence type 101; Klebsiella pneumoniae ST101
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Ciacci, N.; D’Andrea, M.M.; Marmo, P.; Demattè, E.; Amisano, F.; Pilato, V.D.; Fraziano, M.; Lupetti, P.; Rossolini, G.M.; Thaller, M.C. Characterization of vB_Kpn_F48, a Newly Discovered Lytic Bacteriophage for Klebsiella pneumoniae of Sequence Type 101. Viruses 2018, 10, 482.
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