Characterizing lytic bacteriophages against pathogenic E. coli: receptor specificity, efficacy in vivo, and genomic analysis

Many facets of human life are affected by bacterial pathogens. Bacteria can cause both animal and plant diseases. Extensive use of antibiotics to contend with pathogenic bacteria has resulted in an increase of multi-resistance to antimicrobials. Even when antibiotics are used vigilantly, their application in poultry or other fields of animal production can lead to increased spreading of drug resistance. Natural adversaries of bacteria – bacteriophages – are now considered as an alternative to antibiotics. Unlike antibiotics which show broad range killing, bacteriophages only kill specific bacterial species or strains, and are harmless for others. In poultry, avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) is the predominant cause of respiratory and systemic infection in chickens and turkeys. During a Mitacs Accelerate grant, we isolated lytic phages with a broad killing activity against a variety of APEC strains. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Charles Dozois

Student:

Kateryna Krylova

Partner:

SyntBioLab Inc

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Program: