Isolation of a PRD1-like phage uncovers the carriage of three putative conjugative plasmids in clinical Burkholderia contaminans

Cassandra R Stanton; Steve Petrovski; Steven Batinovic

doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2024.104202

Isolation of a PRD1-like phage uncovers the carriage of three putative conjugative plasmids in clinical Burkholderia contaminans

Res Microbiol. 2024 Apr 4:104202. doi: 10.1016/j.resmic.2024.104202. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Cassandra R Stanton¹, Steve Petrovski², Steven Batinovic³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: steve.petrovski@latrobe.edu.au.
³ Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia; Division of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.

PMID: 38582389
DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2024.104202

Abstract

The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a group of increasingly multi-drug resistant opportunistic bacteria. This resistance is driven through a combination of intrinsic factors and the carriage of a broad range of conjugative plasmids harbouring virulence determinants. Therefore, novel treatments are required to treat and prevent further spread of these virulence determinants. In the search for phages infective for clinical Bcc isolates, CSP1 phage, a PRD1-like phage was isolated. CSP1 phage was found to require pilus machinery commonly encoded on conjugative plasmids to facilitate infection of Gram-negative bacteria genera including Escherichia and Pseudomonas. Whole genome sequencing and characterisation of one of the clinical Burkholderia isolates revealed it to be Burkholderia contaminans. B. contaminans 5080 was found to contain a genome of over 8 Mbp encoding multiple intrinsic resistance factors, such as efflux pump systems, but more interestingly, carried three novel plasmids encoding multiple putative virulence factors for increased host fitness, including antimicrobial resistance. Even though PRD1-like phages are broad host range, their use in novel antimicrobial treatments shouldn't be dismissed, as the dissemination potential of conjugative plasmids is extensive. Continued survey of clinical bacterial strains is also key to understanding the spread of antimicrobial resistance determinants and plasmid evolution.

Keywords: Bacteriophage; Burkholderia cepacia complex; Conjugative plasmid; PRD1-like phage.