Isolation, characterization and therapeutic evaluation of a new Acinetobacter virus Abgy202141 lysing Acinetobacter baumannii

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology Vol. 15; p. 1379400
• Main Authors: Tian, Xun, Liu, Xiang, Zhou, Jianhong, Wang, Li, Wang, Qinrong, Qi, Xiaolan, Liu, Jiayu, Zhao, Dailin, Hsiang, Tom, Jiang, Yinhui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 30.04.2024
• Subjects: Acinetobacter baumannii; biological characteristics; genome analysis; Microbiology; phage; phage therapy; Acinetobacter baumannii; biological characteristics; phage; genome analysis; phage therapy
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1379400

is an opportunistic pathogen that easily resists currently available antibiotics. Phages are considered alternative therapeutic agents to conventional antibiotics for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacteria. We isolated an Acinetobacter virus Abgy202141 from underground sewage in a residential area of Guiyang City in China. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that Acinetobacter virus Abgy202141 has an icosahedral head attached to a tail. This phage infects strain GY-4, and was found to have a short latent period of 5 min and with a burst size of 189 particles per infected host cell. Additionally, Acinetobacter virus Abgy202141 remained stable at different concentrations of chloroform and varying pH levels and temperatures. Based on SDS-PAGE analysis, it contained 14 proteins with molecular weights ranging from 12 to 125 kDa. The double-strand (ds) DNA genome of Acinetobacter virus Abgy202141 consisted of 41,242 bp with a GC content of 39.4%. It contained 50 open reading frames (ORFs), of which 29 ORFs had identified functions, but no virulence-related genes, antibiotic-resistance genes, or tRNAs were found. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that Acinetobacter virus Abgy202141 was a new phage in the genus. Acinetobacter virus Abgy202141 also showed the ability to prevent infections in the model.