Elbakidze T, Kokashvili T, Janelidze N, Porchkhidze K, Koberidze T, Tediashvili M
1G. Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages, Microbiology and Virology, Tbilisi; 2Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Georgian Med News. 2015 Mar(240):65-72.
Vibrio cholerae, a widely spread bacterium in various marine, fresh, and brackish water environments, can cause a devastating diarrheal disease - cholera and also mild forms of gastroenteritis. Bacterial viruses are natural controllers of bacterial population density in water systems. The goal of this study was to isolate and characterize V. cholerae-specific bacteriophages occurring in the Georgian coastal zone of the Black Sea and inland water reservoirs in the eastern part of Georgia. During 2006-2009, 71 phages lytic to V. cholerae were collected from these aquatic environments. The phage isolation rate was varying from 8% to 15%, depending on the sampling season and site, and the abundance of host bacteria. The majority of phages specific to V. cholerae were collected from freshwater sources. The phage isolation showed seasonal character covering warm period -from April to September. Based on basic characteristics of primary phage isolates (lytic spectrum, virion morphology and DNA restriction profiles) 23 V. cholerae -specific phages were selected for series of consecutive screenings. Comparatively wide spectrum of lytic activity was revealed in case of 14 phages specific to V. cholerae O1, and one phage - VchBS3, active against non-O1 V. cholerae. Three phages active against V. cholerae non-O1 and six V. cholerae O1 -specific phages have been studied in detail for a number of biological features (stability in different solutions, temperature-, pH- and UV- sensitivity, influence of high ionic strength etc.), considered to be additional important characteristics for selection of phages with therapeutic potential.
霍乱弧菌是一种广泛分布于各种海洋、淡水和咸淡水环境中的细菌，可引发一种毁灭性的腹泻疾病——霍乱，以及轻度的肠胃炎。细菌病毒是水系统中细菌种群密度的天然控制者。本研究的目的是分离和鉴定在黑海格鲁吉亚沿海地区以及格鲁吉亚东部内陆水库中出现的霍乱弧菌特异性噬菌体。在2006年至2009年期间，从这些水生环境中收集到了71株对霍乱弧菌具有裂解作用的噬菌体。噬菌体的分离率在8%至15%之间，具体取决于采样季节、地点以及宿主细菌的丰度。大多数霍乱弧菌特异性噬菌体是从淡水水源中收集到的。噬菌体的分离呈现出季节性特征，涵盖了4月至9月的温暖时期。基于初级噬菌体分离株的基本特征（裂解谱、病毒体形态和DNA限制图谱），选择了23株霍乱弧菌特异性噬菌体进行一系列连续筛选。在14株针对霍乱弧菌O1的特异性噬菌体以及1株对非O1霍乱弧菌有活性的噬菌体VchBS3中，发现了相对较宽的裂解活性谱。对3株针对非O1霍乱弧菌的噬菌体和6株霍乱弧菌O1特异性噬菌体的一些生物学特性（在不同溶液中的稳定性、温度、pH和紫外线敏感性、高离子强度的影响等）进行了详细研究，这些特性被认为是选择具有治疗潜力噬菌体的其他重要特征。
