ABSTRACT
The emergence of pathogenic bacteria with multiple drug resistances (MDR) and the detrimental side effects to the microbiome from the overuse of antibiotics pose significant risks to human health. Bacteriophage (phage) can be an alternative or supplemental therapy to combat MDR infections. Phage can be isolated from environmental reservoirs, such as wastewater, and used to target desired hosts, including MDR bacterial pathogens. In this study, we isolate a Myoviridae phage from Portland, Oregon, wastewater named Escherichia virus PDX that lyses enteropathogenic (EPEC) and enteroaggregative (EAEC) E. coli strains. Host susceptibility assays, transmission electron microscopy, and genomic analysis confirmed the bacteriolytic activity of PDX against these E. coli pathogens, while time-kill assays demonstrate that PDX inhibited growth of both pathotypes in a dose-dependent manner. Metagenomic sequencing of cultured fecal bacteria treated with PDX revealed that alpha diversity of propagated fecal samples was not reduced in the presence of the PDX phage.
