Isolation and characterization of wide host range lytic bacteriophage AP22 infecting Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii plays a significant role in infecting patients admitted to hospitals. Many A.similar to baumannii infections, including ventilation-associated pneumonia, wound, and bloodstream infections, are common for intensive care and burn units. The ability of the microorganism to acquire resistance to many antibiotics, disinfectants, and dehydration assures its long-term survival in hospital settings. The application of bacteriophages is a potential tool to control A.similar to baumannii infections. Bacteriophage AP22 lytic for A.similar to baumannii was isolated from clinical materials and classified as a member of the Myoviridae family. The phage had an icosahedral head of 64 similar to nm in diameter and a contractile tail of 8590 similar to nm in length. According to restriction analysis, AP22 had 46-kb double-stranded DNA genome. The phage AP22 exhibited rapid adsorption (>similar to 99% adsorbed in 5 similar to min), a large burst size (240 PFU per cell), and stability to the wide range of pH. The bacteriophage was shown to specifically infect and lyse 68% (89 of 130) genotype-varying multidrug-resistant clinical A.similar to baumannii strains by forming clear zones. Thus, it could be used as a candidate for making up phage cocktails to control A.similar to baumannii-associated nosocomial infections.