Isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

Abstract Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a bacterium often resistant to antibiotics and is a significant cause of nosocomial infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Phage therapy has shown promise as a potential treatment for such difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, but research...

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Main Authors: Wakana Yamashita, Yuta Sato, Matthew Imanaka, Michiyo Kataoka, Tadaki Suzuki, Aa Haeruman Azam, Shinjiro Ojima, Kayoko Hayakawa, Sho Saito, Yuki Moriyama, Norio Ohmagari, Masami Kurokawa, Kazuhisa Mezaki, Azumi Tamura, Longzhu Cui, Jumpei Fujiki, Hidetomo Iwano, Yoshimasa Takahashi, Koichi Watashi, Satoshi Tsuneda, Kotaro Kiga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14811-5
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author Wakana Yamashita
Yuta Sato
Matthew Imanaka
Michiyo Kataoka
Tadaki Suzuki
Aa Haeruman Azam
Shinjiro Ojima
Kayoko Hayakawa
Sho Saito
Yuki Moriyama
Norio Ohmagari
Masami Kurokawa
Kazuhisa Mezaki
Azumi Tamura
Longzhu Cui
Jumpei Fujiki
Hidetomo Iwano
Yoshimasa Takahashi
Koichi Watashi
Satoshi Tsuneda
Kotaro Kiga
author_facet Wakana Yamashita
Yuta Sato
Matthew Imanaka
Michiyo Kataoka
Tadaki Suzuki
Aa Haeruman Azam
Shinjiro Ojima
Kayoko Hayakawa
Sho Saito
Yuki Moriyama
Norio Ohmagari
Masami Kurokawa
Kazuhisa Mezaki
Azumi Tamura
Longzhu Cui
Jumpei Fujiki
Hidetomo Iwano
Yoshimasa Takahashi
Koichi Watashi
Satoshi Tsuneda
Kotaro Kiga
author_sort Wakana Yamashita
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a bacterium often resistant to antibiotics and is a significant cause of nosocomial infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Phage therapy has shown promise as a potential treatment for such difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, but research on phages targeting this bacterium is very limited. In this study, we isolated 34 phages using four clinical strains of S. maltophilia and evaluated their infectivity and bactericidal activity. While some phages infected all four strains, many exhibited strain-specific infectivity. We investigated the bacterial growth curves in response to three phages, named Yut1, Yut2, and Yut4, and found that all phages exhibited potent lytic activity against the clinical strains even at low doses. Genome analysis found that the phages did not carry any lysogeny genes, virulence factors, or antibiotic resistance genes, suggesting their high potential as therapeutic phages. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis suggested that Yut1 and Yut4 belong to a novel phage lineage. These results highlight the therapeutic potential of our novel phages to combat the growing antibiotic resistance problem.
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publishDate 2025-08-01
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record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-afca844c8dc24e369ad19998366c62bc2025-08-20T03:04:38ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-14811-5Isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting Stenotrophomonas maltophiliaWakana Yamashita0Yuta Sato1Matthew Imanaka2Michiyo Kataoka3Tadaki Suzuki4Aa Haeruman Azam5Shinjiro Ojima6Kayoko Hayakawa7Sho Saito8Yuki Moriyama9Norio Ohmagari10Masami Kurokawa11Kazuhisa Mezaki12Azumi Tamura13Longzhu Cui14Jumpei Fujiki15Hidetomo Iwano16Yoshimasa Takahashi17Koichi Watashi18Satoshi Tsuneda19Kotaro Kiga20Research Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesResearch Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesResearch Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesDepartment of Infectious Disease Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan Institute for Health SecurityDepartment of Infectious Disease Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan Institute for Health SecurityResearch Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesResearch Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and MedicineDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and MedicineDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and MedicineDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and MedicineMicrobiology Laboratory, National Center for Global Health and MedicineMicrobiology Laboratory, National Center for Global Health and MedicineResearch Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesDepartment of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Jichi Medical UniversityDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen UniversityDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen UniversityResearch Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesResearch Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesDepartment of Life Science and Medical Bioscience, Waseda UniversityResearch Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesAbstract Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a bacterium often resistant to antibiotics and is a significant cause of nosocomial infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Phage therapy has shown promise as a potential treatment for such difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, but research on phages targeting this bacterium is very limited. In this study, we isolated 34 phages using four clinical strains of S. maltophilia and evaluated their infectivity and bactericidal activity. While some phages infected all four strains, many exhibited strain-specific infectivity. We investigated the bacterial growth curves in response to three phages, named Yut1, Yut2, and Yut4, and found that all phages exhibited potent lytic activity against the clinical strains even at low doses. Genome analysis found that the phages did not carry any lysogeny genes, virulence factors, or antibiotic resistance genes, suggesting their high potential as therapeutic phages. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis suggested that Yut1 and Yut4 belong to a novel phage lineage. These results highlight the therapeutic potential of our novel phages to combat the growing antibiotic resistance problem.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14811-5
spellingShingle Wakana Yamashita
Yuta Sato
Matthew Imanaka
Michiyo Kataoka
Tadaki Suzuki
Aa Haeruman Azam
Shinjiro Ojima
Kayoko Hayakawa
Sho Saito
Yuki Moriyama
Norio Ohmagari
Masami Kurokawa
Kazuhisa Mezaki
Azumi Tamura
Longzhu Cui
Jumpei Fujiki
Hidetomo Iwano
Yoshimasa Takahashi
Koichi Watashi
Satoshi Tsuneda
Kotaro Kiga
Isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
Scientific Reports
title Isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
title_full Isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
title_fullStr Isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
title_full_unstemmed Isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
title_short Isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
title_sort isolation and characterization of novel bacteriophages targeting stenotrophomonas maltophilia
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14811-5
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