Bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in Uganda.

Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) cause colibacillosis leading to significant economic losses in the poultry industry. This laboratory-based study aimed at establishing stocks of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli lytic bacteriophages, for future development of cocktail products for colibacill...

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Main Authors: George Kazibwe, Phionah Katami, Ruth Alinaitwe, Stephen Alafi, Ann Nanteza, Jesca Lukanga Nakavuma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239107
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spelling doaj-a4d63c8dc19048bcb1450d7f8de772c22021-03-04T12:45:51ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-011512e023910710.1371/journal.pone.0239107Bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in Uganda.George KazibwePhionah KatamiRuth AlinaitweStephen AlafiAnn NantezaJesca Lukanga NakavumaAvian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) cause colibacillosis leading to significant economic losses in the poultry industry. This laboratory-based study aimed at establishing stocks of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli lytic bacteriophages, for future development of cocktail products for colibacillosis management. The study determined the antibiotic susceptibility; phylogenetic categories, occurrence of selected serotypes and virulence genes among Escherichia coli stock isolates from chicken colibacillosis cases; and evaluated bacteriophage activity against the bacteria. Escherichia coli characterization was done through phenotypic and multiplex PCR methods. Bacteriophage isolation and preliminary characterization was achieved using the spot assay and overlay plating techniques. Fifty-six (56) isolates were phenotypically confirmed as E. coli and all exhibited resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent; while multi-drug resistance (at least three drugs) was encountered in 50 (89.3%) isolates. The APEC isolates mainly belonged to phylogroups A and D, representing 44.6% and 39.3%, respectively; whereas serotypes O1, O2 and O78 were not detected. Of the 56 isolates, 69.6% harbored at least one virulence gene, while 50% had at least four virulence genes; hence confirmed as APEC. Virulence genes, ompT and iutA were the most frequent in 33 (58.9%) and 32 (57.1%) isolates respectively; while iroN least occurred in 23 (41.1%) isolates. Seven lytic bacteriophages were isolated and their host range, at 1×108 PFU/ml, varied from 1.8% to 17.9% of the 56 APEC isolates, while the combined lytic spectrum was 25%. Phage stability was negatively affected by increasing temperatures with both UPEC04 and UPEC10 phages being undetectable at 70°C; whereas activity was detected between pH 2 and 12. The high occurrence of APEC isolates resistant against the commonly used antibiotics supports the need for alternative strategies of bacterial infections control in poultry. The low host range exhibited by the phages necessitates search for more candidates before in-depth phage characterization and application.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239107
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author George Kazibwe
Phionah Katami
Ruth Alinaitwe
Stephen Alafi
Ann Nanteza
Jesca Lukanga Nakavuma
spellingShingle George Kazibwe
Phionah Katami
Ruth Alinaitwe
Stephen Alafi
Ann Nanteza
Jesca Lukanga Nakavuma
Bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in Uganda.
PLoS ONE
author_facet George Kazibwe
Phionah Katami
Ruth Alinaitwe
Stephen Alafi
Ann Nanteza
Jesca Lukanga Nakavuma
author_sort George Kazibwe
title Bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in Uganda.
title_short Bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in Uganda.
title_full Bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in Uganda.
title_fullStr Bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in Uganda.
title_full_unstemmed Bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in Uganda.
title_sort bacteriophage activity against and characterisation of avian pathogenic escherichia coli isolated from colibacillosis cases in uganda.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2020-01-01
description Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) cause colibacillosis leading to significant economic losses in the poultry industry. This laboratory-based study aimed at establishing stocks of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli lytic bacteriophages, for future development of cocktail products for colibacillosis management. The study determined the antibiotic susceptibility; phylogenetic categories, occurrence of selected serotypes and virulence genes among Escherichia coli stock isolates from chicken colibacillosis cases; and evaluated bacteriophage activity against the bacteria. Escherichia coli characterization was done through phenotypic and multiplex PCR methods. Bacteriophage isolation and preliminary characterization was achieved using the spot assay and overlay plating techniques. Fifty-six (56) isolates were phenotypically confirmed as E. coli and all exhibited resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent; while multi-drug resistance (at least three drugs) was encountered in 50 (89.3%) isolates. The APEC isolates mainly belonged to phylogroups A and D, representing 44.6% and 39.3%, respectively; whereas serotypes O1, O2 and O78 were not detected. Of the 56 isolates, 69.6% harbored at least one virulence gene, while 50% had at least four virulence genes; hence confirmed as APEC. Virulence genes, ompT and iutA were the most frequent in 33 (58.9%) and 32 (57.1%) isolates respectively; while iroN least occurred in 23 (41.1%) isolates. Seven lytic bacteriophages were isolated and their host range, at 1×108 PFU/ml, varied from 1.8% to 17.9% of the 56 APEC isolates, while the combined lytic spectrum was 25%. Phage stability was negatively affected by increasing temperatures with both UPEC04 and UPEC10 phages being undetectable at 70°C; whereas activity was detected between pH 2 and 12. The high occurrence of APEC isolates resistant against the commonly used antibiotics supports the need for alternative strategies of bacterial infections control in poultry. The low host range exhibited by the phages necessitates search for more candidates before in-depth phage characterization and application.
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239107
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