Characterization and genome analysis of novel Klebsiella phage Henu1 with lytic activity against clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Arch Virol. 2019 Sep;164(9):2389-2393. doi: 10.1007/s00705-019-04321-x. Epub 2019 Jun 18.

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important human pathogen that is associated with a wide range of diseases, including pneumonia and septicemia. Because of the threat of drug-resistant K. pneumoniae to humans, especially carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, which is becoming a growing threat to hospitalized patients, the potential use of phage therapy has generated considerable interest. Henu1, isolated from a sewage sample, was identified as a linear double-stranded DNA phage of 40,352 bp with 53.14% G + C content and 143-bp terminal repeats. The Henu1 genome contains 45 open reading frames, and no tRNA genes were found. K. pneumoniae clinical strains with the capsular types K-1, K-2, and K-57 could be infected by Henu1. No human-virulence-related genes or lysogen-formation gene clusters were detected in this phage genome, suggesting that Henu1 is a virulent phage in its bacterial host and is safe for humans.

MeSH terms

  • Bacteriophages / classification
  • Bacteriophages / genetics
  • Bacteriophages / isolation & purification*
  • Bacteriophages / physiology
  • Base Composition
  • Genome, Viral*
  • Humans
  • Klebsiella Infections / microbiology
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / physiology
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / virology*
  • Open Reading Frames
  • Phylogeny