Characterization and genome analysis of phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507 against Klebsiella pneumoniae and efficacy assessment in Galleria mellonella larvae

Jiao Feng; Fei Li; Li Sun; Lina Dong; Liting Gao; Han Wang; Liyong Yan; Changxin Wu

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1081715

Characterization and genome analysis of phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507 against Klebsiella pneumoniae and efficacy assessment in Galleria mellonella larvae

Front Microbiol. 2023 Jan 30:14:1081715. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1081715. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jiao Feng¹, Fei Li^{2

3}, Li Sun¹, Lina Dong⁴, Liting Gao¹, Han Wang⁵, Liyong Yan⁶, Changxin Wu¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.
² Center for Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Taian City Central Hospital of Qingdao University, Taian, China.
³ College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China.
⁴ Core Laboratory, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital (Fifth Hospital) of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
⁵ Medical Imaging Center, The Affiliated Taian City Central Hospital of Qingdao University, Taian, China.
⁶ Hospital Office, The Affiliated Taian City Central Hospital of Qingdao University, Taian, China.

Abstract

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the primary bacterial pathogens that pose a significant threat to global public health because of the lack of available therapeutic options. Phage therapy shows promise as a potential alternative to current antimicrobial chemotherapies. In this study, we isolated a new Siphoviridae phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507 against KPC-producing K. pneumoniae from hospital sewage. It had a short latent period of 20 min and a large burst size of 246 phages/cell. The host range of phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507 was relatively broad. It has a wide range of pH tolerance and high thermal stability. The genome of phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507 was 53,122 bp in length with a G + C content of 49.1%. A total of 81 open-reading frames (ORFs) and no virulence or antibiotic resistance related genes were involved in the phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507 genome. Phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507 showed significant antibacterial activity in vitro. The survival rate of Galleria mellonella larvae inoculated with K. pneumoniae SXFY507 was 20%. The survival rate of K. pneumonia-infected G. mellonella larvae was increased from 20 to 60% within 72 h upon treatment with phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507. In conclusion, these findings indicate that phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507 has the potential to be used as an antimicrobial agent for the control of K. pneumoniae.

Keywords: Galleria mellonella; Klebsiella pneumoniae; carbapenem-resistant; genome analysis; phage vB_KpnS_SXFY507.