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Escherichia coli phage phi2013: genomic analysis and receptor identification

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Abstract

Escherichia coli is an important foodborne pathogen that can cause severe human disease. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of the lytic virus phi2013, which is specific for Escherichia coli laboratory strains. Transmission electron microscopy showed that phage phi2013 has an icosahedral head and a long, fragile, noncontractile tail, exhibiting the typical form of a siphovirus. Evidence revealed that the phi2013 genome is a linear double-stranded DNA molecule of 49,833 bp with 79 predicted genes without any known antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factor genes, or integrase genes. Moreover, the conserved outer membrane protein FhuA, which is present in members of several genera of the family Enterobacteriaceae, was identified as the receptor of phage phi2013. To evaluate the potential of phage phi2013 as a biocontrol agent for controlling E. coli contamination, it was tested in several foods, including sterilized milk, ready-to-eat beef, and crisphead lettuce. The data showed that phage phi2013 can efficiently inhibit E. coli growth in the tested foods at 4°C and 25°C. We therefore conclude that phage phi2013 or cocktails containing phi2013 may be used as an antimicrobial agent in extending the shelf-life of food products by effectively controlling the growth of E. coli.

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All data supporting the study are included in the manuscript.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 31970150).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China

    Donghang Li, Zhiqiang Zhang, Yueying Li, Xixi Zhang, Xuying Qin & Hongjiang Yang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology of the Ministry of education, Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Dongsheng Wei

Authors
  1. Donghang Li
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  2. Zhiqiang Zhang
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  3. Yueying Li
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  4. Xixi Zhang
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  6. Dongsheng Wei
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  7. Hongjiang Yang
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Contributions

Phage isolation was performed by Xixi Zhang. Phage characterization, annotation, and receptor identification were performed by Donghang Li and Zhiqiang Zhang. Growth control tests were performed by Donghang Li, Yueying Li, and Xuying Qin. TEM was performed by Donghang Li and Dongsheng Wei. Analysis of the genome termini was performed by Yueying Li. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Donghang Li and Hongjiang Yang. The manuscript was reviewed and edited by Hongjiang Yang. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hongjiang Yang.

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Li, D., Zhang, Z., Li, Y. et al. Escherichia coli phage phi2013: genomic analysis and receptor identification. Arch Virol 167, 2689–2702 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-022-05617-1

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