Highly stable bacteriophages PIN1 and PIN2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteria
Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that kill bacteria, with potential as antibacterial agents in industrial settings, agriculture, and human health. Here, we identified two phages, PIN1 and PIN2, that can kill clinical isolates of the human pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. The phages are highly stab...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | npj Viruses |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44298-025-00139-4 |
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| author | Afif Jati Yan Li Andre Mu Tze Y. Thung Huanchang Chen Joel Steele Han Lee Ralf Schittenhelm Tieli Zhou Francesca L. Short Rhys A. Dunstan Trevor Lithgow |
| author_facet | Afif Jati Yan Li Andre Mu Tze Y. Thung Huanchang Chen Joel Steele Han Lee Ralf Schittenhelm Tieli Zhou Francesca L. Short Rhys A. Dunstan Trevor Lithgow |
| author_sort | Afif Jati |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that kill bacteria, with potential as antibacterial agents in industrial settings, agriculture, and human health. Here, we identified two phages, PIN1 and PIN2, that can kill clinical isolates of the human pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. The phages are highly stable; PIN2 in particular resisted multiple freeze-thaw cycles over 12 months without loss of activity. PIN1 and PIN2 are related to flagellotropic phages, an idiosyncratic group of viruses that bind to bacterial flagellae, but K. pneumoniae is an immotile pathogen that does not have flagellae. Genetic mosaicism is observed, wherein the long, flexible tail fiber of the flagellotropic phages has been substituted by a more compact tail fiber that binds the Klebsiella host through cell-surface capsular polysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide. PIN1 and PIN2 belong to the Yonseivirus group of phages, with initial analyses across the group suggesting further recent diversification in the tail-fiber cassette in the Yonseivirus genomes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6172fc3315a5490285e4afcaa9c53d5b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2948-1767 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Viruses |
| spelling | doaj-art-6172fc3315a5490285e4afcaa9c53d5b2025-08-20T03:04:30ZengNature Portfolionpj Viruses2948-17672025-07-013111310.1038/s44298-025-00139-4Highly stable bacteriophages PIN1 and PIN2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteriaAfif Jati0Yan Li1Andre Mu2Tze Y. Thung3Huanchang Chen4Joel Steele5Han Lee6Ralf Schittenhelm7Tieli Zhou8Francesca L. Short9Rhys A. Dunstan10Trevor Lithgow11Infection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Microbiology, Monash UniversityInfection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Microbiology, Monash UniversityInfection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash UniversityInfection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Microbiology, Monash UniversityInfection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Microbiology, Monash UniversityMonash Proteomics & Metabolomics Platform, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash UniversityMonash Proteomics & Metabolomics Platform, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash UniversityMonash Proteomics & Metabolomics Platform, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash UniversityThe First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityInfection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Microbiology, Monash UniversityInfection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Microbiology, Monash UniversityInfection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute & Department of Microbiology, Monash UniversityBacteriophages (phages) are viruses that kill bacteria, with potential as antibacterial agents in industrial settings, agriculture, and human health. Here, we identified two phages, PIN1 and PIN2, that can kill clinical isolates of the human pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. The phages are highly stable; PIN2 in particular resisted multiple freeze-thaw cycles over 12 months without loss of activity. PIN1 and PIN2 are related to flagellotropic phages, an idiosyncratic group of viruses that bind to bacterial flagellae, but K. pneumoniae is an immotile pathogen that does not have flagellae. Genetic mosaicism is observed, wherein the long, flexible tail fiber of the flagellotropic phages has been substituted by a more compact tail fiber that binds the Klebsiella host through cell-surface capsular polysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide. PIN1 and PIN2 belong to the Yonseivirus group of phages, with initial analyses across the group suggesting further recent diversification in the tail-fiber cassette in the Yonseivirus genomes.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44298-025-00139-4 |
| spellingShingle | Afif Jati Yan Li Andre Mu Tze Y. Thung Huanchang Chen Joel Steele Han Lee Ralf Schittenhelm Tieli Zhou Francesca L. Short Rhys A. Dunstan Trevor Lithgow Highly stable bacteriophages PIN1 and PIN2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteria npj Viruses |
| title | Highly stable bacteriophages PIN1 and PIN2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteria |
| title_full | Highly stable bacteriophages PIN1 and PIN2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteria |
| title_fullStr | Highly stable bacteriophages PIN1 and PIN2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Highly stable bacteriophages PIN1 and PIN2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteria |
| title_short | Highly stable bacteriophages PIN1 and PIN2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteria |
| title_sort | highly stable bacteriophages pin1 and pin2 have hallmarks of flagellotropic phages but infect immotile bacteria |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44298-025-00139-4 |
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