Phage therapy (PT), as a method to treat bacterial infections, needs identification of bacteriophages targeting specific pathogenic host. Enterococcus faecalis, a Gram-positive coccus resident in the human gastrointestinal tract, may become pathogenic in hospitalized patients showing acquired resistance to vancomycin and thus representing a possible target for PT.
Materials and Methods:
We isolated four phages that infect E. faecalis and characterized them by host range screening, transmission electron microscopy, and genome sequencing. We also identified and three-dimensional modeled a new hyaluronidase enzyme.
Results:
The four phages belong to Siphoviridae family: three Efquatrovirus (namely vB_EfaS_TV51, vB_EfaS_TV54, and vB_EfaS_TV217) and one Saphexavirus (vB_EfaS_TV16). All of them are compatible with lytic cycle. vB_EfaS_TV16 moreover presents a gene encoding for a hyaluronidase enzyme.
Conclusions:
The identified phages show features suggesting their useful application in PT, particularly the Saphexavirus that may be of enhanced relevance in PT because of its potential biofilm-digestion capability.
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