scholarly journals Characterization of Non-O157 STEC Infecting Bacteriophages Isolated from Cattle Faeces in North-West South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel W. Bumunang ◽  
Tim A. McAllister ◽  
Kim Stanford ◽  
Hany Anany ◽  
Yan D. Niu ◽  
...  

Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) E. coli are emerging pathotypes that are frequently associated with diseases in humans around the world. The consequences of these serogroups for public health is a concern given the lack of effective prevention and treatment measures. In this study, ten bacteriophages (phages; SA20RB, SA79RD, SA126VB, SA30RD, SA32RD, SA35RD, SA21RB, SA80RD, SA12KD and SA91KD) isolated from cattle faeces collected in the North-West of South Africa were characterized. Activity of these phages against non-O157 STEC isolates served as hosts for these phages. All of the phages except SA80RD displayed lytic against non-O157 E. coli isolates. Of 22 non-O157 E. coli isolates, 14 were sensitive to 9 of the 10 phages tested. Phage SA35RD was able to lyse 13 isolates representing a diverse group of non-O157 E. coli serotypes including a novel O-antigen Shiga toxigenic (wzx-Onovel5:H19) strain. However, non-O157 E. coli serotypes O76:H34, O99:H9, O129:H23 and O136:H30 were insensitive to all phages. Based on transmission electron microscopy, the non-O157 STEC phages were placed into Myoviridae (n = 5) and Siphoviridae (n = 5). Genome of the phage ranged from 44 to 184.3 kb. All but three phages (SA91KD, SA80RD and SA126VB) were insensitive to EcoRI-HF and HindIII nucleases. This is the first study illustrating that cattle from North-West South Africa harbour phages with lytic potentials that could potentially be exploited for biocontrol against a diverse group of non-O157 STEC isolated from the same region.

Author(s):  
Collins Njie Ateba ◽  
Muyiwa Ajoke Akindolire

Bacteriophages can provide alternative measures for the control of E. coli O157:H7 that is currently an emerging food-borne pathogen of severe public health concern. This study was aimed at characterising E. coli O157:H7 specific phages as potential biocontrol agents for these pathogens. Fifteen phages were isolated and screened against 69 environmental E. coli O157:H7. Only 3 phages displayed broad lytic spectra against environmental shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 strains. These 3 lytic phages were designated V3, V7 and V8. Subsequent characterization indicated that they displayed very high degree of similarities despite isolation from different locations. Transmission Electron microscopy (TEM) of the phages revealed that they all had isometric heads of about 73 – 77 nm in diameter and short tails ranging from 20 - 25 nm in diameter. Phages V3, V7 and V8 were assigned to the family Podoviridae based on their morphology. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) genome estimation of the 3 phages demonstrated identical genome sizes of ~ 69 nm. The latent periods of these phages were 20 min, 15 min, and 20 min for V3, V7 and V8 respectively while the burst sizes were 374, 349 and 419 PFU/ infected cell respectively. While all the phages were relatively stable over a wide range of salinity, temperatures and pH values, their range of infectivity or lytic profile was rather narrow on environmental E. coli O157:H7 strains isolated from cattle faeces. This study showed that the Podoviridae bacteriophages are the dominant E. coli O57:H7-infecting phages harboured in cattle faeces in the North-West Province of South Africa and due to their favourable characteristics can be exploited in the formulation of phage cocktails for the bio-control of E. coli O157:H7 in meat and other meat products.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-75
Author(s):  
Fortunate Mtshali Thobile ◽  
Ntanganedzeni Mapholi Olivia ◽  
Tebogo Ncube Keabetswe ◽  
Farai Dzomba Edgar ◽  
C. Matelele Tlou ◽  
...  

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