Novel Bacteriophage Specific against Staphylococcus epidermidis and with Antibiofilm Activity

Abstract

Staphylococcus epidermidis has emerged as the most important pathogen in infections related to indwelling medical devices, and although these infections are not life-threatening, their frequency and the fact that they are extremely difficult to treat represent a serious burden on the public health system. Treatment is complicated by specific antibiotic resistance genes and the formation of biofilms. Hence, novel therapeutic strategies are needed to fight these infections. A novel bacteriophage CUB-EPI_14 specific to the bacterial species S. epidermidis was isolated from sewage and characterized genomically and phenotypically. Its genome contains a total of 46,098 bp and 63 predicted genes, among which some have been associated with packaging and lysis-associated proteins, structural proteins, or DNA- and metabolism-associated proteins. No lysogeny-associated proteins or known virulence proteins were identified in the phage genome. CUB-EPI_14 showed stability over a wide range of temperatures (from -20 degrees C to 50 degrees C) and pH values (pH 3-pH 12) and a narrow host range against S. epidermidis. Potent antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities were observed when the phage was tested against a highly susceptible bacterial isolate. These encouraging results open the door to new therapeutic opportunities in the fight against resilient biofilm-associated infections caused by S. epidermidis.