Li Lijuan, Li Kunkun, Mi Yu, Wu Xiumei, Zhong Youhong, Zhang Chenggui, Wang Peng, Zhao Hairong
Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Entomological Biopharmaceutical R&D, College of Pharmacy, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, China.
Microbiol Spectr. 2025 Sep 2;13(9):e0271624. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.02716-24. Epub 2025 Aug 5.
is an established pathogen implicated in hospital-acquired infections and is notorious for its propensity to form biofilms on medical devices, leading to persistent environmental contamination and increased infection risks. Addressing this challenge, our study introduces a novel bacteriophage, Weishan phage (WSPA), isolated from the gut of L., exhibiting potent activity against multidrug-resistant strains of . Through comprehensive genomic and proteomic characterization, we classified phage WSPA as a member of the genus within the class . The WSPA phage has a double-stranded DNA genome of 173,655 base pairs and a GC content of 40.09%. Of the 273 open reading frames identified, 124 encode for proteins with recognized functions in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database, while the remaining 149 are of unknown function. Additionally, we identified six tRNA genes and did not identify any virulence or antibiotic resistance genes. However, given the presence of numerous hypothetical genes with unknown functions, this phage may possess certain therapeutic safety potential, though additional research validation is still required. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that WSPA shares 86.92% sequence identity with the known (MW082584.1). We further assessed the phage's one-step growth characteristics, thermal and pH stability, and determined its host range, which are critical for its application in environmental and clinical settings. Our findings suggest that bacteriophage WSPA could serve as an eco-friendly and effective agent in controlling infections, with promising implications for phage therapy and biocontrol in healthcare environments.IMPORTANCEThis study isolated a novel phage, WSPA, from L. gut that specifically targets multidrug-resistant . Genomic analysis identified WSPA as a new Muldoonvirus member lacking virulence/resistance genes. With excellent stability and lytic activity, WSPA shows potential for hospital infection control. As the first phage isolated from the cockroach gut, this work expands phage resources and supports medicinal insect phage library development, advancing phage therapy and biocontrol applications.
是一种与医院获得性感染有关的既定病原体，因其易于在医疗设备上形成生物膜而臭名昭著，导致持续的环境污染和感染风险增加。为应对这一挑战，我们的研究引入了一种新型噬菌体——微山噬菌体（WSPA），它是从[具体蟑螂种类]的肠道中分离出来的，对[目标细菌种类]的多重耐药菌株表现出强大的活性。通过全面的基因组和蛋白质组学表征，我们将噬菌体WSPA归类为[噬菌体所属类别]类中的[噬菌体所属属]属成员。WSPA噬菌体具有一个173,655个碱基对的双链DNA基因组，GC含量为40.09%。在鉴定出的273个开放阅读框中，有124个编码在国家生物技术信息中心（NCBI）数据库中具有公认功能的蛋白质，其余149个功能未知。此外，我们鉴定出六个tRNA基因，未发现任何毒力或抗生素抗性基因。然而，鉴于存在众多功能未知的假设基因，尽管仍需要进一步的研究验证，但这种噬菌体可能具有一定的治疗安全潜力。比较基因组分析表明，WSPA与已知的[参考噬菌体名称]（MW082584.1）具有86.92%的序列同一性。我们进一步评估了噬菌体的一步生长特性、热稳定性和pH稳定性，并确定了其宿主范围，这些对于其在环境和临床环境中的应用至关重要。我们的研究结果表明，噬菌体WSPA可以作为一种生态友好且有效的剂来控制[目标细菌种类]感染，对医疗环境中的噬菌体治疗和生物防治具有潜在的应用前景。重要性本研究从[具体蟑螂种类]肠道中分离出一种新型噬菌体WSPA，它特异性靶向多重耐药的[目标细菌种类]。基因组分析确定WSPA为一种新的Muldoonvirus成员，缺乏毒力/抗性基因。WSPA具有出色的稳定性和裂解活性，显示出在医院感染控制方面的潜力。作为从蟑螂肠道分离出的首个噬菌体，这项工作扩展了噬菌体资源，支持药用昆虫噬菌体文库的开发，推动了噬菌体治疗和生物防治应用。
