Isolation and characterization of lytic bacteriophages from various sources in Addis Ababa against antimicrobial-resistant diarrheagenic Escherichia coli strains and evaluation of their therapeutic potential

Background Escherichia coli is a common fecal coliform, facultative aerobic, gram-negative bacterium. Pathogenic strains of such microbes have evolved to cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, and septicemias. The emergence of antibiotic resistance urged the identification of an alternative strategy. The use of lytic bacteriophages against the control of pathogenic E. coli in clinics and different environmental setups (waste and drink water management) has become an alternative therapy to antibiotic therapy. Thus, this study aimed to isolate and characterize lytic bacteriophage from various sources in Addis Ababa, tested them against antimicrobial-resistant diarrheagenic E. coli strains and evaluated their therapeutic potential under in vitro conditions. Methods A total of 14 samples were processed against six different diarrheagenic E. coli strains. The conventional culture and plaque analysis agar overlay method was used to recover lytic bacteriophage isolates. The phage isolates were characterized to determine their lytic effect, growth characteristics, host range activity, and stability under different temperature and pH conditions. Phage isolates were identified by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and molecular techniques (PCR). Results In total, 17 phages were recovered from 84 tested plates. Of the 17 phage isolates, 11 (65%) were Myoviridae-like phages, and 6 (35%) phage isolates were Podoviridae and Siphoviridae by morphology and PCR identification. Based on the host range test, growth characteristics, and stability test 7 potent phages were selected. These phages demonstrated better growth characteristics, including short latent periods, highest burst sizes, and wider host ranges, as well as thermal stability and the ability to survive in a wide range of pH levels. Conclusions The promising effect of the phages isolated in this study against AMR pathogenic E. coli has raised the possibility of their use in the future treatment of E. coli infections.