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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Phage Biology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1438022

Synergistic removal of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms by using a combination of phage Kayvirus rodi with the exopolysaccharide depolymerase Dpo7

Provisionally accepted
Ana C. Duarte Ana C. Duarte 1Lucía Fernández Lucía Fernández 1*Andrea Jurado Andrea Jurado 1Ana B. Campelo Ana B. Campelo 1Yang Shen Yang Shen 2Ana Rodriguez Ana Rodriguez 1Pilar García Pilar García 1
  • 1 Institute of Dairy Products of Asturias, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Villaviciosa, Spain
  • 2 Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

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

    Bacteriophages have been shown to penetrate biofilms and replicate if they find suitable host cells. Therefore, these viruses appear to be a good option to tackle the biofilm problem and complement or even substitute more conventional antimicrobials. However, in order to successfully remove biofilms, in particular mature biofilms, phages may need to be administered along with other compounds. Phage-derived proteins, such as endolysins or depolymerases, offer a safer alternative to other compounds in the era of antibiotic resistance. This study demonstrates synergistic interaction between phage Kayvirus rodi with a polysaccharide depolymerase (Dpo7) from another phage (Rockefellervirus IPLA7) against biofilms formed by different Staphylococcus aureus strains. This observation was confirmed by microscopy analysis, which also showed that polysaccharide depolymerase treatment reduced, but did not eliminate extracellular matrix polysaccharides. Activity assays on mutant strains did not identify teichoic acids or PNAG/PIA as the exclusive target of Dpo7, suggesting that may be both are degraded by this enzyme. Phage adsorption to S. aureus cells was not significantly altered by incubation with Dpo7, indicating that the mechanism of the observed synergistic interaction is likely through loosening of the biofilm structure. This would allow easier access of the phage particles to their host cells and facilitate infection progression within the bacterial population.

    Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacteriophage, Exopolysaccharide depolymerase, Biofilms, Synergy

    Received: 24 May 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Duarte, Fernández, Jurado, Campelo, Shen, Rodriguez and García. 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: Lucía Fernández, Institute of Dairy Products of Asturias, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Villaviciosa, Spain

    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.