Mohamed S. Fayez, Toka A. Hakim, Bishoy Maher Zaki, Salsabil Makky, Mohamed Abdelmoteleb, Kareem Essam, Anan Safwat, Abdallah S. Abdelsattar, Ayman El-Shibiny
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) are one of the most promising alternatives to traditional antibiotic therapies, especially against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Klebsiella pneumoniae is considered to be an opportunistic pathogen that can cause life-threatening infections. Thus, this study aims at the characterization of a novel isolated phage vB_Kpn_ZC2 (ZCKP2, for short).
The phage ZCKP2 was isolated from sewage water by using the clinical isolate KP/08 as a host strain. The isolated bacteriophage was purified and amplified, followed by testing of its molecular weight using Pulse-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), transmission electron microscopy, antibacterial activity against a panel of other Klebsiella pneumoniae hosts, stability studies, and whole genome sequencing.
Phage ZCKP2 belongs morphologically to siphoviruses as indicated from the Transmission Electron Microscopy microgram. The Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis and the phage sequencing estimated the phage genome size of 48.2 kbp. Moreover, the absence of lysogeny-related genes, antibiotic resistance genes, and virulence genes in the annotated genome suggests that phage ZCKP2 is safe for therapeutic use. Genome-based taxonomic analysis indicates that phage ZCKP2 represents a new family that has not been formally rated yet. In addition, phage ZCKP2 preserved high stability at different temperatures and pH values (-20 - 70 °C and pH 4 - 9). For the antibacterial activity, phage ZCKP2 maintained consistent clear zones on KP/08 bacteria along with other hosts, in addition to effective bacterial killing over time at different MOIs (0.1, 1, and 10). Also, the genome annotation predicted antibacterial lytic enzymes. Furthermore, the topology of class II holins was predicted in some putative proteins with dual transmembrane domains that contribute significantly to antibacterial activity. Phage ZCKP2 characterization demonstrates safety and efficiency against multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae, hence ZCKP2 is a good candidate for further in vivo and phage therapy clinical applications.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 30 October 2023.
All research outputs
#7,328,580
of 25,443,857 outputs
Outputs from Virology Journal
#813
of 3,396 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#127,951
of 406,892 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Virology Journal
#16
of 79 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,443,857 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 71st percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,396 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 24.6. This one has done well, scoring higher than 75% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 406,892 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 68% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 79 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 81% of its contemporaries.
