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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Phage Biology
Volume 16 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1496919
Characterization and genomic analysis of a Herelleviridae bacteriophage UHP46 infecting mastitis-causing Staphylococcus aureus
Provisionally accepted
Sara Najeeb 1
Imran Khan 1
Javed Muhammad 1* Muhammad Jahangir 1
Iqbal Ahmad Alvi 2 Anza Abbas 1
AMAN ULLAH 3 Arif Ullah 1 Wajiha Sajid 1
Hashir Khan 4 Amjad Khan 1,5- 1 The University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan
- 2 Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan
- 3 National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
- 4 Kohsar University, Murree, Punjab, Pakistan
- 5 University of Kentucky, Lexington, United States
Mastitis is a widespread disease on a global scale, significantly impacting the dairy industry.Mastitis in dairy cattle is caused by over 150 different bacteria, with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) playing a significant role in financial losses, problems with animal welfare, and challenges with food safety. Although bovine mastitis has been treated using conventional therapeutic techniques, such as antibiotics, treatment failures have resulted from the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Phage treatment is thus being investigated as an effective replacement for reducing contaminants and illnesses caused by bacteria. In this study, we identified a phage UHP46, that effectively targets mastitis-causing S. aureus. Phage UHP46, belonging to the Herelleviridae family, forms clear, circular plaques in bacterial lawn. UHP46 showed stability under various range of temperature and pH levels, with maximum activity observed at pH 7 and temperature 37 °C. Genomic analysis revealed that phage UHP46 is a dsDNA virus with an approximate genome size of 139,731 bp, and it encodes 72 proteins with known functions and 136 hypothetical proteins. One-step growth curve analysis indicated latent period of approximately 20 mins and burst size of about 27 progeny/cell. In organic stability test, UHP46 showed stability in DMSO and acetone. Furthermore, it effectively inhibited S. aureus growth for up to 16 h, suggesting its suitability for therapeutic applications against S. aureus infections.
Keywords: Mastitis, Staphylococcus aureus, antibiotic resistance, Bacteriophages, phage therapy
Received: 15 Sep 2024; Accepted: 27 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Najeeb, Khan, Muhammad, Jahangir, Alvi, Abbas, ULLAH, Ullah, Sajid, Khan and Khan. 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:
Javed Muhammad, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan
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