Ragab Samar, Gouda Shrouk Mohamed, Abdelmoteleb Mohamed, El-Shibiny Ayman
Center for Microbiology and Phage Therapy, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt.
Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Environ Technol. 2024 Jul;45(18):3544-3558. doi: 10.1080/09593330.2023.2220886. Epub 2023 Jun 7.
The spread and development of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) bacteria in wastewater became beyond control and a global public health concern. The conventional disinfectants used in wastewater treatment methods have been becoming increasingly ineffective against a range of pathogenic and MDR bacteria. Bacteriophages are considered a novel approach to microbial control. Therefore, this study aims to explore the possibility of using phages against pathogenic and MDR strains isolated from wastewater treatment plants. The wastewater samples were collected from two different treatment plants for isolation. The antibiotic sensitivity profile and occurrence of virulence and resistant genes were tested in 28 isolates. Phage ZCEC13 was selected based on its promising activity and host range to undergo identification and characterization. ZCEC13 was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, genomic sequencing, lytic activity and tested for its stability under different conditions such as pH, Ultraviolet light exposure, and temperature. The results reported that ZCEC13 belongs to the class, with a high antibacterial dynamic. Phage ZCEC13 displayed high stability at different pH values ranging from 2 to 12, good tolerance to temperatures from -4 to 65°C, and high stability at UV exposure for 120 min. Respectively, the findings showed stability of the phage under several conditions and high efficiency in killing MDR bacteria isolated from the treatment plants. Further studies are encouraged to analyse the efficacy of phages as a microbial control agent in wastewater treatment plants.
多重耐药（MDR）细菌在废水中的传播和扩散已失控，成为全球公共卫生问题。废水处理方法中使用的传统消毒剂对一系列致病性和多重耐药细菌的效果越来越差。噬菌体被认为是一种控制微生物的新方法。因此，本研究旨在探索使用噬菌体对抗从污水处理厂分离出的致病性和多重耐药菌株的可能性。从两个不同的处理厂采集废水样本进行分离。对28株分离菌进行了抗生素敏感性分析以及毒力和耐药基因检测。基于噬菌体ZCEC13有前景的活性和宿主范围，选择它进行鉴定和表征。通过透射电子显微镜、基因组测序、裂解活性对ZCEC13进行评估，并测试其在不同条件（如pH值、紫外线照射和温度）下的稳定性。结果表明，ZCEC13属于该类别，具有较高的抗菌活性。噬菌体ZCEC13在pH值为2至12的不同范围内表现出高稳定性，对-4至65°C的温度具有良好耐受性，在紫外线照射120分钟时具有高稳定性。这些发现分别表明了噬菌体在多种条件下的稳定性以及对从处理厂分离出的多重耐药细菌的高效杀灭能力。鼓励进一步研究分析噬菌体作为污水处理厂微生物控制剂的功效。
