Isolation and characterization of Bacillus cereus bacteriophage DZ1 and its application in foods

Zhichao Huang; Xiaoming Yuan; Zhenjun Zhu; Ying Feng; Na Li; Shubo Yu; Chun Li; Bo Chen; Shi Wu; Qihui Gu; Jumei Zhang; Juan Wang; Qingping Wu; Yu Ding

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137128

Isolation and characterization of Bacillus cereus bacteriophage DZ1 and its application in foods

Food Chem. 2024 Jan 15:431:137128. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137128. Epub 2023 Aug 11.

Authors

Zhichao Huang¹, Xiaoming Yuan¹, Zhenjun Zhu², Ying Feng², Na Li¹, Shubo Yu³, Chun Li¹, Bo Chen¹, Shi Wu³, Qihui Gu³, Jumei Zhang³, Juan Wang⁴, Qingping Wu³, Yu Ding⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science & Engineering, Institute of Food Safety & Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application (MARA), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
² Department of Food Science & Engineering, Institute of Food Safety & Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application (MARA), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
⁴ College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
⁵ Department of Food Science & Engineering, Institute of Food Safety & Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China. Electronic address: dingyu@jnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37591138
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137128

Abstract

Bacillus cereus is a pathogenic bacterium that causes food contamination, resulting in food poisoning such as diarrhea and emesis. Therefore, it is crucial to develop effective strategies to control this bacterium. In this study, we isolated and characterized a novel B. cereus phage, named DZ1. Morphological and genomic analyses revealed that phage DZ1 is a new species belonging to the Andromedavirus genus. Phage DZ1 was tolerant to a wide range of pH values (5-9), temperatures (4-55 ℃), and high concentrations of NaCl solution (1000 mM). B. cereus with 21 different sequence types (STs) can be lysed by phage DZ1. Importantly, phage DZ1 inhibited B. cereus growth in spiked rice substrates or milk up to 36 and 72 h, respectively, with suppression of 3 log. Therefore, phage DZ1 is a useful biocontrol agent for the control of B. cereus in the food industry.

Keywords: Bacillus cereus; Biocontrol; Foodborne pathogen; Long-term bacteriostatic; Lytic range.

MeSH terms

Animals
Bacillus Phages*
Bacillus cereus
Cactaceae*
Diarrhea
Milk