Osong Public Health Res Perspect.  2019 Feb;10(1):20-24. 10.24171/j.phrp.2019.10.1.05.

Specification of Bacteriophage Isolated Against Clinical Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

• Nasser A
• Azizian R
• Tabasi M
• Khezerloo
• Heravi FS
• Kalani MT
• Sadeghifard N
• Amini R
• Pakzad I
• Radmanesh
• Jalilian F

• KMID: 2441509
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24171/j.phrp.2019.10.1.05

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The emergence of resistant bacteria is being increasingly reported around the world, potentially threatening millions of lives. Amongst resistant bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most challenging to treat. This is due to emergent MRSA strains and less effective traditional antibiotic therapies to Staphylococcal infections. The use of bacteriophages (phages) against MRSA is a new, potential alternate therapy. In this study, morphology, genetic and protein structure of lytic phages against MRSA have been analysed.
METHODS
Isolation of livestock and sewage bacteriophages were performed using 0.4 μm membrane filters. Plaque assays were used to determine phage quantification by double layer agar method. Pure plaques were then amplified for further characterization. Sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and random amplification of polymorphic DNA were run for protein evaluation, and genotyping respectively. Transmission electron microscope was also used to detect the structure and taxonomic classification of phage visually.
RESULTS
Head and tail morphology of bacteriophages against MRSA were identified by transmission electron microscopy and assigned to the Siphoviridae family and the Caudovirales order.
CONCLUSION
Bacteriophages are the most abundant microorganism on Earth and coexist with the bacterial population. They can destroy bacterial cells successfully and effectively. They cannot enter mammalian cells which saves the eukaryotic cells from lytic phage activity. In conclusion, phage therapy may have many potential applications in microbiology and human medicine with no side effect on eukaryotic cells.

Keyword

bacteriophage; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; random amplified polymorphic deoxyribonucleic acid - polymerase chain reaction; scanning transmission electron microscopy; sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

MeSH Terms

Agar
Bacteria
Bacteriophages*
Caudovirales
Classification
DNA
Electrophoresis
Eukaryotic Cells
Head
Humans
Livestock
Membranes
Methicillin Resistance*
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus*
Methods
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Transmission
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Sewage
Siphoviridae
Staphylococcal Infections
Tail
Agar
DNA
Sewage