Authors
Tsubasa Kitafuji, Hina Hayashi, Koji Yamazaki, Shogo Yamaki
Published in
International journal of food microbiology. Volume 460. Pages 111946. Jul 14, 2026. Epub Jul 14, 2026.
Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica are major foodborne pathogens worldwide. In this study, we co-cultured the broad-host-range bacteriophage (phage) EscoHU1 with its bacterial hosts (E. coli O157:H7 and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium) and isolated mutant phages and bacteria. The isolated bacteria acquired resistance to EscoHU1 owing to impaired EscoHU1 adsorption. Further genomic analysis of EscoHU1-resistant bacteria revealed mutations in btuB or its 5'-untranslated region. Correspondingly, mutant phages derived from cocultures with E. coli O157:H7 (EscoHU1 EP5_r3 and EP5_r17) or S. Typhimurium (EscoHU1 SP4_r3, SP4_r7, and SP4_r16) showed improved adsorption of E. coli O157:H7 or S. Typhimurium. However, EscoHU1 SP4_r3, SP4_r7, and SP4_r16 lost their infectivity toward E. coli O157:H7, which suggests that these mutants adapted to S. Typhimurium during co-culture. Furthermore, mutations in the L-shaped tail fiber protein were detected in EscoHU1 EP5_r3 and EP5_r17, whereas no mutations were found in the receptor-binding proteins of these phages. However, one, two, and three point mutations were detected in the receptor-binding proteins of EscoHU1 SP4_r7, SP4_r16, and SP4_r3, respectively. In liquid media, milk, and beef, the EscoHU1 mutants showed a greater antibacterial effect than that of the wild-type phage. The results showed that in vitro reproduction of the coevolutionary phage-host arms race using serial passages prompted the wild-type phage to adapt to its host and generate mutant phages with higher antibacterial potential.
PMID:
42447554
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Jul 2026.
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