Bacteriophages, revitalized after 100 years in the shadow of antibiotics
摘要：<正>The year 2015 marks 100 years since Dr.Frederick Twort discovered the"filterable lytic factor",which was later independently discovered and named "bacteriophage" by Dr.Felix d’Herelle.On this memorable centennial,it is exciting to see a special issue published by Virologica Sinica on Phages and Therapy.In this issue,readers will not only fi nd that bacteriophage research is aCOVER
摘要：<正>This issue of Virologica Sinica is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of "filterable lytic factor" or "bacteriophage"(1915-2015).During the past 100 years,both basic knowledge and applications of bacteriophages have been substantially explored and developed.In recent years,bacteriophage research is booming and holding the hopeBacteriophage therapy against Enterobacteriaceae
摘要：The Enterobacteriaceae are a class of gram-negative facultative anaerobic rods, which can cause a variety of diseases, such as bacteremia, septic arthritis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, lower respiratory tract infections, skin and soft-tissue infections, urinary tract infections, intra-abdominal infections and ophthalmic infections, in humans, poultry, animals and fish. Disease caused by Enterobacteriaceae cause the deaths of millions of people every year, resulting in enormous economic loss. Drug treatment is a useful and efficient way to control Enterobacteriaceae infections. However, with the abuse of antibiotics, drug resistance has been found in growing number of Enterobacteriaceae infections and, as such, there is an urgent need to find new methods of control. Bacteriophage therapy is an efficient alternative to antibiotics as it employs a different antibacterial mechanism. This paper summarizes the history of bacteriophage therapy, its bacteriallytic mechanisms, and the studies that have focused on Enterobacteriaceae and bacteriophage therapy.Survival and proliferation of the lysogenic bacteriophage CTXΦ in Vibrio cholerae
摘要：The lysogenic phage CTXΦ of Vibrio cholerae can transfer the cholera toxin gene both horizontally(inter-strain) and vertically(cell proliferation). Due to its diversity in form and species, the complexity of regulatory mechanisms, and the important role of the infection mechanism in the production of new virulent strains of V.cholerae, the study of the lysogenic phage CTXΦ has attracted much attention. Based on the progress of current research, the genomic features and their arrangement, the host-dependent regulatory mechanisms of CTXΦ phage survival, proliferation and propagation were reviewed to further understand the phage’s role in the evolutionary and epidemiological mechanisms of V. cholerae.Phage lytic enzymes: a history
摘要：There are many recent studies regarding the efficacy of bacteriophage-related lytic enzymes: the enzymes of ‘bacteria-eaters’ or viruses that infect bacteria. By degrading the cell wall of the targeted bacteria, these lytic enzymes have been shown to efficiently lyse Gram-positive bacteria without affecting normal flora and non-related bacteria. Recent studies have suggested approaches for lysing Gram-negative bacteria as well(Briersa Y, et al., 2014). These enzymes include: phage-lysozyme, endolysin, lysozyme, lysin, phage lysin, phage lytic enzymes, phageassociated enzymes, enzybiotics, muralysin, muramidase, virolysin and designations such as Ply, PAE and others. Bacteriophages are viruses that kill bacteria, do not contribute to antimicrobial resistance, are easy to develop, inexpensive to manufacture and safe for humans, animals and the environment. The current focus on lytic enzymes has been on their use as anti-infectives in humans and more recently in agricultural research models. The initial translational application of lytic enzymes, however, was not associated with treating or preventing a specifi c disease but rather as an extraction method to be incorporated in a rapid bacterial detection assay(Bernstein D, 1997).The current review traces the translational history of phage lytic enzymes–from their initial discovery in 1986 for the rapid detection of group A streptococcus in clinical specimens to evolving applications in the detection and prevention of disease in humans and in agriculture.Molecular dissection of phage lysin PlySs2: integrity of the catalytic and cell wall binding domains is essential for its broad lytic activity
摘要：The novel phage lysin PlySs2, is reported to be highly active against various bacteria, including staphylococci, streptococci and Listeria. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its broad lytic spectrum remain to be established. In the present study, the lytic activity of the catalytic domain(CD, PlySc) and binding specificity of the cell wall binding domain(CBD, PlySb) of PlySs2 were examined. Our results showed that PlySc alone maintains very limited lytic activity. Enhanced green fluorescent protein(EGFP)-fused PlySb displayed high binding affinity to the streptococcal strains tested, including S.suis, S.dysgalactiae, and S.agalactiae, but not staphylococci, supporting its utility as a good CBD donor for streptococcal-targeted lysin engineering. EGFP-fused intact PlySs2 similarly displayed high affinity for streptococci, but not staphylococci. Notably, four truncated PlySb fragments showed no binding capacity. These findings collectively indicate that integrity of the PlySc and PlySb domains is an essential determinant of the broad lytic activity of PlySs2.Isolation and characterization of glacier VMY22, a novel lytic cold-active bacteriophage of Bacillus cereus
摘要：As a unique ecological system with low temperature and low nutrient levels, glaciers are considered a "living fossil" for the research of evolution. In this work, a lytic cold-active bacteriophage designated VMY22 against Bacillus cereus MYB41-22 was isolated from Mingyong Glacier in China, and its characteristics were studied. Electron microscopy revealed that VMY22 has an icosahedral head(59.2 nm in length, 31.9 nm in width) and a tail(43.2 nm in length). Bacteriophage VMY22 was classified as a Podoviridae with an approximate genome size of 18 to 20 kb. A one-step growth curve revealed that the latent and the burst periods were 70 and 70 min, respectively, with an average burst size of 78 bacteriophage particles per infected cell. The pH and thermal stability of bacteriophage VMY22 were also investigated. The maximum stability of the bacteriophage was observed to be at pH 8.0 and it was comparatively stable at p H 5.0–9.0. As VMY22 is a cold-active bacteriophage with low production temperature, its characterization and the relationship between MYB41-22 and Bacillus cereus bacteriophage deserve further study.Variation of resistance and infectivity between Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 and bacteriophage Ф2 and its therapeutic implications
摘要：<正>Dear Editor,Studies of the coevolutionary dynamics between Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 and bacteriophageФ2 can explore host resistance and parasite infectivity with applications in the ecological and therapeutic fields.Coevolutionary dynamics determine the efficacy of phage-based therapy.In the study described here,bacterial resistance and phage infectivity fluctuated with cultureA novel transposable Mu-like prophage in Bacillus alcalophilus CGMCC 1.3604(ATCC 27647)
摘要：<正>Dear Editor,Transposable phages,which are reproduced by transposition(Harshey,2012;Taylor,1963),have been widely applied in the field of biotechnology to manipulate operon/gene fusions,in vivo cloning,randomion mutagenesis,and integration of DNA into bacterial genomes(Abalakina et al.,2008;Akhverdyan et al.,2011).One of the best-studied transposable phages isIsolation and characterization of a lytic bacteriophage φKp-lyy15 of Klebsiella pneumoniae
摘要：<正>Dear Editor,Bacteriophages(phages)are viruses that specifically infect and kill bacteria.They are ubiquitous throughout all environments that bacteria inhabit.Following their discovery by F.W.Twort in 1915 and F.d’Herele in 1917,bacteriophages were recognized as potential agents to treat bacterial diseases and phage therapy has been usedExpression and purification of recombinant lyase gp17 from the LSB-1 phage in Escherichia coli
摘要：<正>Dear Editor,In recent years,owing to the fact that antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become more and more prevalent,there has been a resurgence of interest in the use of bacteriophages.However,bacteriophage therapy remains an underutilized option in modern medicine due to technical hurdles such as limited host range,narrow spectrum of bacteriaIsolation and complete genome sequence of a novel virulent mycobacteriophage, CASbig
摘要：<正>Dear Editor,Bacteriophages are powerful tools for investigating and manipulating their hosts(Fernandes et al.,2014).This holds particularly true for mycobacteriophages,which have facilitated the development of mycobacterial genetic systems and have generated tools for the clinicalExperience of the Eliava Institute in bacteriophage therapy
摘要：<正>The rapid propagation of multidrug resistant bacterial strains is leading to renewed interest in bacteriophage therapy.With challenges in the treatment of bacterial infections,it is essential for people worldwide to understand how alternative approaches,such as bacteriophages,could be used to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria.The Eliava InstituteCopyright
摘要：<正>Submission of a manuscript implies:that the work described has not been published before(except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture,review,or thesis);that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere;that its publication has been approved by all co-authors,if any,as well as-tacitly or explicitly-by the responsible authorities at the institution where the work was carried