Characterization of a Novel Bacteriophage Henu2 and Evaluation of the Synergistic Antibacterial Activity of Phage-Antibiotics

• Main Authors: Xianghui Li (Author), Tongxin Hu (Author), Jiacun Wei (Author), Yuhua He (Author), Abualgasim Elgaili Abdalla (Author), Guoying Wang (Author), Yanzhang Li (Author), Tieshan Teng (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2021-02-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/antibiotics10020174; 2079-6382
• Keywords: <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>; bacteriophage; phage-antibiotic synergy; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Antibiotics, Vol 10, Iss 2, p 174 (2021)

<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> phage Henu2 was isolated from a sewage sample collected in Kaifeng, China, in 2017. In this study, Henu2, a linear double-stranded DNA virus, was sequenced and found to be 43,513 bp long with 35% G + C content and 63 putative open reading frames (ORFs). Phage Henu2 belongs to the family <i>Siphoviridae</i> and possesses an isometric head (63 nm in diameter). The latent time and burst size of Henu2 were approximately 20 min and 7.8 plaque forming unit (PFU)/infected cells. The Henu2 maintained infectivity over a wide range of temperature (10-60 °C) and pH values (4-12). Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses indicate that <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> phage Henu2 should be a new member of the family of <i>Siphoviridae</i> class-II. In this paper, Phage Henu2 alone exhibited weak inhibitory activity on the growth of <i>S. aureus</i>. However, the combination of phage Henu2 and some antibiotics or oxides could effectively inhibit the growth of <i>S. aureus</i>, with a decrease of more than three logs within 24 h in vitro. These results provide useful information that phage Henu2 can be combined with antibiotics to increase the production of phage Henu2 and thus enhance the efficacy of bacterial killing.