Natural Bred ε²-Phages Have an Improved Host Range and Virulence against Uropathogenic Escherichia coli over Their Ancestor Phages.

ABSTRACT: Alternative treatments for Escherichia coli infections are urgently needed, and phage therapy is a promising option where antibiotics fail, especially for urinary tract infections (UTI). We used wastewater-isolated phages to test their lytic activity against a panel of 47 E. coli strains reflecting the diversity of strains found in UTI, including sequence type 131, 73 and 69. The plaquing host range (PHR) was between 13 and 63%. In contrast, the kinetic host range (KHR), describing the percentage of strains for which growth in suspension was suppressed for 24 h, was between 0% and 19%, substantially lower than the PHR. To improve the phage host range and their efficacy, we bred the phages by mixing and propagating cocktails on a subset of E. coli strains. The bred phag

SUBMITTER: Loose M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8614997 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature