Lytic bacteriophage vB_KmiS-Kmi2C disrupts biofilms formed by members of theKlebsiella oxytocacomplex, and represents a novel virus family and genus

Abstract

Members of the Klebsiella oxytoca complex (KoC) are emerging opportunistic pathogens responsible for causing a range of serious infections, especially in healthcare settings. Increasing levels of antimicrobial resistance within the complex could be circumvented by the therapeutic use of lytic bacteriophage to tackle infections caused by KoC members. Here, we report the phenotypic and genomic characterisation of phage vB_KmiS-Kmi2C, a siphovirus-like phage with lytic properties against clinical isolates of the KoC and isolated on a GES-5-positive, ST138 strain of K. michiganensis. Application of phage vB_KmiS-Kmi2C was found to both prevent biofilm formation and disrupt established biofilms produced by members of the KoC. The genome of vB_KmiS-Kmi2C comprises 42,234 bp and is predicted to encode 55 genes. Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses shows that vB_KmiS-Kmi2C shares little sequence similarity with other known phages and represents a novel genus. Further gene-sharing network analysis using vConTACT showed vB_KmiS-Kmi2C forms a viral cluster with 38 other known phages, none of which were isolated using Klebsiella as a host.