Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Antibiotic Resistance and New Antimicrobial drugs
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1473668

Characterization of four novel bacteriophages targeting multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains of sequence type 147 and 307

Provisionally accepted
Greta Ponsecchi Greta Ponsecchi 1Tommaso Olimpieri Tommaso Olimpieri 1Noemi Poerio Noemi Poerio 1Alberto Antonelli Alberto Antonelli 2Marco Coppi Marco Coppi 2Gustavo Di Lallo Gustavo Di Lallo 1Mariangela Gentile Mariangela Gentile 3Eugenio Paccagnini Eugenio Paccagnini 3Pietro Lupetti Pietro Lupetti 3Claudio Lubello Claudio Lubello 4Gian M. Rossolini Gian M. Rossolini 2Maurizio Fraziano Maurizio Fraziano 1Marco Maria D'Andrea Marco Maria D'Andrea 1*
  • 1 Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
  • 2 Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy, Florence, Italy
  • 3 Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
  • 4 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICEA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The global dissemination of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogenic bacteria requires the rapid research and development of alternative therapies that can support or replace conventional antibiotics. Among MDR pathogens, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp) is of particular concern due to its extensive resistance profiles, global dissemination in hospital environments, and its major role in some life-threatening infections. Phages, or some of their components, are recognized as one of the potential alternatives that might be helpful to treat bacterial infections. In this study, we have isolated and characterized four lytic bacteriophages targeting K. pneumoniae strains of Sequence Type (ST) 307 or ST147, two predominant high-risk clones of CR-Kp. Phages, designated vB_KpM_GP-1, vB_KpP_GP-2, vB_KpP_GP-4, and vB_KpP_GP-5, were isolated from sewage wastewater samples. The vB_KpM_GP-1 phage was a siphovirus unable to establish lysogeny with its host, while the other three were podoviruses. While 85.7% of K. pneumoniae strains of ST307 were selectively lysed by the phages vB_KpM_GP-1 or vB_KpP_GP-5, the other two phages were able to lyse all tested strains of ST147 (n = 12). Phages were stable over a broad pH and temperature range and were characterized by burst sizes of 10-100 plaque forming units (PFU) and latency periods of 10-50 minutes. Genome sequencing confirmed the absence of antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors or toxins and revealed that two phages were likely members of new genera. Given their strictly lytic nature and high selectivity towards two of the major high-risk clones of K. pneumoniae, cocktails of these phages could represent promising candidates for further evaluation in in vivo experimental models of K. pneumoniae infection.

    Keywords: Phage, Klebsiella pneumoniae, multi-drug resistance, phage-therapy, Klebsiella pneumoniae ST147, Klebsiella pneumoniae ST307, Carbapenem-resistance

    Received: 31 Jul 2024; Accepted: 06 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ponsecchi, Olimpieri, Poerio, Antonelli, Coppi, Di Lallo, Gentile, Paccagnini, Lupetti, Lubello, Rossolini, Fraziano and D'Andrea. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marco Maria D'Andrea, Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.