Genomic characterization of lytic bacteriophages targeting genetically diverse Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates

Hayley R. Nordstrom, Daniel R. Evans, Amanda G. Finney, Kevin J. Westbrook, Paula F. Zamora, Casey E. Hofstaedter, Mohamed H. Yassin, Akansha Pradhan, Alina Iovleva, Robert K. Ernst, Jennifer M. Bomberger, Ryan K. Shields, Yohei Doi, Daria Van Tyne

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections can be difficult to treat and new therapeutics are needed. Bacteriophage therapy is a promising alternative to traditional antibiotics, but large numbers of isolated and characterized phages are lacking. We collected 23 diverse P. aeruginosa isolates from people with cystic fibrosis (CF) and clinical infections, and used them to screen and isolate over a dozen P. aeruginosa-targeting phages from hospital wastewater. Phages were characterized with genome sequencing, comparative genomics, and lytic activity screening against all 23 bacterial host isolates. We evolved bacterial mutants that were resistant to phage infection for four different phages, and used genome sequencing and functional analysis to study them further. We also tested phages for their ability to kill P. aeruginosa grown in biofilms in vitro and ex vivo on CF airway epithelial cells. Overall, this study demonstrates how systematic genomic and phenotypic characterization can be deployed to develop bacteriophages as precision antibiotics.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104372
JournaliScience
Volume25
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17-06-2022
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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