Bacteriophage as a promising approach for the biocontrol of typical pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli in fecal environment

Toilet feces are a major source of environmental pollution and public health issues, harboring a wide range of pathogens. Bacteriophage therapy, a promising biological control method for eliminating pathogenic bacteria, offers advantages such as high specificity, safety, and rapid proliferation. In this study, the bacteriophage LYE-01, isolated from feces using Escherichia coli (E. coli) as the target pathogen, demonstrated strong environmental tolerance. It survived within a pH range of 4–11, at temperatures of 10–50 °C, and following ultraviolet irradiation for up to 20 min. Comprehensive genomic analysis of LYE-01 revealed an absence of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes, confirming its safety for both environmental and human health. In the experiments of evaluating the bacteriophage's efficacy in removing pathogenic bacteria, LYE-01 exhibited an inhibitory effect on its host bacteria across different multiplicity of infection (MOI) conditions. The highest inactivation efficiency of LYE-01 on E. coli was 64.5 % at the optimal MOI = 1, providing a crucial experimental basis for the subsequent application of this bacteriophage. This newly isolated bacteriophage represents a promising tool for reducing fecal sewage contamination, mitigating environmental pollution, and improving rural environmental health.