Characterization of phage vB_EfS_C1 and investigation of antibacterial and antibiofilm properties against vancomycin-susceptible and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

Abstract

E. faecium is listed among the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter), which are responsible for a significant proportion of global deaths. Vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VREfm) is the leading species responsible for human infections, and the limited therapeutic options make VREfm a public health problem. This study aimed to isolate and characterize a novel phage against E. faecium and evaluate its activity against vancomycin-sensitive E. faecium (VSEfm) and VREfm. We isolated a phage, named vB_EfS_C1, from compost. The host range analysis showed that it produced plaques on 5 out of 18 enterococci strains and did not produce plaques on other species. Phage vB_EfS_C1 was infective at different temperatures (40–70 °C), and the titer was stable at different pH levels (6–9). The phage vB_EfS_C1 is 86,777 bp in length, grouping it with phages with large genomes infecting enterococci (>80 kbp). The killing curve revealed that phage vB_EfS_C1 had antibacterial activity with different MOIs (0.001–1) against the E. faecium host strain. The biofilm biomass of E. faecium FHC29 was reduced by 85 % after 6 and 24 h, and the biofilm biomass of E. faecium No. 982 (VREfm) by 50 % after 6 h and 25 % after 24 h with an MOI of 0.1. The viable counts of E. faecium FHC29 and VREfm in biofilms were decreased by 3 log and 1.83 log with an MOI of 1, respectively. In conclusion, phage vB_EfS_C1 is a lytic enterococcal phage displaying antibiofilm activity against VSEfm and VREfm.