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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #419173
Research Project: Molecular Analysis of Foodborne Pathogen Responses to Stressors

Location: Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens

Title: Determination of the infection dynamics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by bacteriophage PhiV10

Author
item OATS, MICHAEL - Purdue University
item CORONEL-AGUILERA, CLAUDIA - Purdue University
item APPLEGATE, BRUCE - Purdue University
item CSONKA, LASZLO - Purdue University
item BHUNIA, ARUN - Purdue University
item Gehring, Andrew
item Paoli, George

Submitted to: Foods
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/8/2025
Publication Date: 2/13/2025
Citation: Oats, M., Coronel-Aguilera, C., Applegate, B., Csonka, L., Bhunia, A., Gehring, A.G., Paoli, G. 2025. Determination of the infection dynamics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by bacteriophage PhiV10. Foods. 14(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14040617.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14040617

Interpretive Summary: E. coli O157:H7 is an important foodborne bacterial pathogen causing an estimated 63,000 illnesses, 2,300 hospitalizations and 20 deaths annually in the U.S, with an economic impact approaching $500 million. Bacteriophage are viruses that infect bacteria, and bacteriophages that specifically infect E. coli O157:H7 have been identified. We previously developed a genetically modified version of the bacteriophage PhiV10 that can be used to detect E. coli O157:H7 by causing the bacteria to emit light. Here we conduct additional experiments to determine what bacterial structures are required for binding of PhiV10 to the E. coli O157:H7 cell surface. The results reveal the unique properties of this bacteriophage:bacteria interaction that help explain PhiV10’s high specificity for binding, infection and detection of this deadly foodborne pathogen.

Technical Abstract: PhiV10 is an E. coli O157:H7-specific bacteriophage that has been used to develop luminescent reporter assays for the detection of this important foodborne pathogen. Previous work demonstrated the specificity of PhiV10 for infection of E.coli O157:H7 through interaction with the O157-antigen. In addition, modification of the LPS via O-acetylation prevents PhiV10 infection in an E. coli O157:H7 expressing a phage encoded O-acetylase gene. Through assays for phage binding, plaque formation and lysogeny using non-O157:H7 and O157:non-H7 strains, as well as complementation of an O157:H- strain, it is demonstrated in this study that both the somatic O157-antigen and flagellar H7-antigen are required for productive infection of E. coli O157:H7 by PhiV10. In addition, the results indicate that the O157-antigen is required for phage binding and that the H7-antigen is required to complete the infection process.