• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.2060-2065
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• 2016

Characteristics of E. coli O157:H7-specific infection bacteriophages (O157 coliphages) and broad-host-range bacteriophages for other E. coli serotypes (broad-host coliphages) were compared. The burst sizes of the two groups ranged from 40 to 176 PFU/infected cell. Distributions of the virulence factors stx1, stx2, ehxA, and saa between the two groups were not differentiated. Broad-host-range coliphages showed lower stability at $70^{\circ}C$, in relation to O157 coliphages. However, O157 coliphages showed high acid and ethanol tolerance by reduction of only 22% and 11% phages, respectively, under pH 3 and 70% ethanol for 1 h exposure. Therefore, these results revealed that the O157 coliphages might be more stable under harsh environments, which might explain their effective infection of the acid-tolerant E. coli O157:H7.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.166-171
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• 1996

Genetic analysis was conducted on newly isolated coliphages form soil by using a RAPD assay. From the initial result, the coliphages were turned out to be different form one another but were closely related to .psi..lambda. due to the fact that they shared the samed RAPD maker in which other T phage testings failed to show. By using the primers EC01 or EC02, a fast genetic mutation of .psi.C1 was found by producing specific RAPD markers on the phages from the first filial progeny to the second filial progeny. When we made a RAPD assay with combined primers (EC01, EC05 and EC08), the genetic mutation was again confirmed in .psi.C1. The assay detection showed mutations in other coliphages such as .psi.C2 and .psi.C3 by revealing specific RAPD bands among different progeny phages, where genetic instability of the coliphages in implied.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.131-139
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• 2000

RAPD-PCR was applied to identify the phylogenetic relationship between isolated Korean-type coliphages ($\phi$C1, $\phi$C2, $\phi$C3 and $\phi$C4) and well-known American coliphages ($\phi$T2, $\phi$T4, $\phi$T5, $\phi$T7 and ${\phi}{\lambda}$). Subsequently, a computer analysis was carried out with the results of RAPD-PCR. As a result, 9 individuals were divided into five groups. The Korean-type coliphages formed a single cluster which showed very high genetic similarity but the American-type coliphages revealed very low genetic similarity among them. In particular, the $\phi$T2와 $\phi$T4 (T$_{even}$ phages) made one sub-cluster among American coliphages, and they were very distant from $\phi$T5, $\phi$T7 and ${\phi}{\lambda}$. However, ${\phi}{\lambda}$ made a cluster with the Korean-type coliphages that we isolated. The genome size of Korean-type coliphages was ranged from 25,000 bp to 35,000 bp. Among them, the genome of $\phi$C2 was the smallest and that of $\phi$C1 was the biggest, while others were in the middle of the size.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.210-222
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• 1982

Coliphages isolated from Han-River from September 1980 to August 1981 were classified by morphological and physiological characteristics. Effects of soil metrial on the fate of coliphage in nature were investigated. 1. The correlation coefficient between coliphage and E.coli which was host of coliphages in nature was 0.7173 (p=0.004). 2. Coliphage I isolated from Han-River of which DNA molecular weight was $27{\times}10^6$ daltons was identified as $T_1$ phage and coliphage II of which DNA molecular weight $72{\times}10^6$ daltons was classified as $T_5$ phage. 3. Soil material SW was composed of 63.65% silt and 21.92% clay. Clay was consisted of illite, kaolinite and chlorite evenly. Soil material J was composed of 68.92% silt and 11.67% clay. Clay consisted of smectite only. 4. Coliphage was absorbed to soil material J more than soil material SW, and $T_1$ coliphage was absorbed to soil material more than $T_5$ coliphage was. 5. The phage adsorption efficiency to soil material was enhanced at lower pH : the phage adsorption efficiency at pH 4 was 27 time higher than at pH 7. 6. Divalent $(Ca^{2+})\;and\;trivalention\;(Al^{3+})$ enhanced the phage adsorption efficiency to soil material from 4 to 39 and from 17 to 91 times higher than monovalent $ion(Na^+)$, respectively. 7. The concentration of organic compound was inversely related to the phage adsorption efficiency to soil. 8. Adsorption of phage onto soil material, and elution efficiency of elutants was in the order of D.D.W>tap water>river water>seawater. 9. The higher the concentration of organic compound was, the more were adsorbed phages to soil eluted. 10. Coliphages survived longer in sterile soil suspension than in nonsterile soil material suspension.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1995.10b
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• pp.313.2-313
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• 1995

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.86-94
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• 2008

Lake Shiwha, an artificial lake located near metropolitan Seoul, offers a unique water environment and has been suspected to have high levels of chemical and microbiological contaminations. Lake Shiwha was originally connected to the sea but currently has four major surface water inputs from agricultural, municipal, industrial areas and in addition an occasional inflow from the sea. The objectives of this study are to investigate the relative contribution of microbial contaminants from each of the inflowing surface waters and to identify appropriate microbial indicator organisms in this unique water environment. We measured the levels of microbial contaminations in the four inflowing surface waters. A number of microbial indicator organisms including total coliform (TC), fecal coliform (FC), E. coli, Enterococci, somatic and male-specific coliphages were analyzed. Bacterial indicator microorganisms were detected and quantified by the $Colilert^{(R)},\;Enterolert^{(R)}$ kit. Surface water (50 l) was sampled by $ViroCap^{TM}\;5"$ cartridge filters and analyzed by the single agar layer method for detecting coliphages. The concentrations of TC, FC, E. coli, and Enterococci were 1543 CFU/100 ml${\sim}1.99{\times}10^6$ CFU/100 ml, 0 CFU/100 ml${\sim}202$ CFU/100ml, 0 CFU/100 ml${\sim}1.80{\sim}10^5$ CFU/100ml, 74 CFU/100 ml${\sim}3408$ CFU/100 ml, respectively. The male-specific and somatic coliphages were detected in three different inflowing surface waters. Isolated E. coli and Enterococci strains were further analyzed by 16s rDNA amplification and subsequent phylogenetic analysis from Jungwang-chun, Ansan-chun, Banwol-chun and penstock of inflowing surface water. Our results indicated that the concentrations of different fecal indicator microorganisms might not be highly correlated with each other. Multiple microbial indicator organisms should be used for monitoring microbial contamination and microbial source tracking methods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.803-811
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• 2014

Concerns over drug-resistant bacteria have stimulated interest in developing alternative methods to control bacterial infections. Endolysin, a phage-encoded enzyme that breaks down bacterial peptidoglycan at the terminal stage of the phage reproduction cycle, is reported to be effective for the control of bacterial pathogenic bacteria. Bioinformatic analysis of the SPN9CC bacteriophage genome revealed a gene that encodes an endolysin with a domain structure similar to those of the endolysins produced by the P1 and P22 coliphages. The SPN9CC endolysin was purified with a C-terminal oligo-histidine tag. The endolysin was relatively stable and active over a broad temperature range (from $24^{\circ}C$ to $65^{\circ}C$). It showed maximal activity at $50^{\circ}C$, and its optimum pH range was from pH 7.5 to 8.5. The SPN9CC endolysin showed antimicrobial activity against only gram-negative bacteria and functioned by cutting the glycosidic bond of peptidoglycan. Interestingly, the SPN9CC endolysin could lyse intact gram-negative bacteria in the absence of EDTA as an outer membrane permeabilizer. The exogenous lytic activity of the SPN9CC endolysin makes it a potential therapeutic agent against gram-negative bacteria.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.746-757
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• 2020

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is the major pathogenic E. coli that causes diarrhea and edema in post-weaning piglets. In this study, we describe the morphology and characteristics of ØCJ19, a bacteriophage that infects ETEC, and performed genetic analysis. Phage ØCJ19 belongs to the family Myoviridae. One-step growth curve showed a latent phase of 5 min and burst size of approximately 20 phage particles/infected cell. Phage infectivity was stable for 2 h between 4℃ and 55℃, and the phage was stable between pH 3 and 11. Genetic analysis revealed that phage ØCJ19 has a total of 49,567 bases and 79 open reading frames (ORFs). The full genomic sequence of phage ØCJ19 showed the most similarity to an Escherichia phage, vB_EcoS_ESCO41. There were no genes encoding lysogeny, toxins, virulence factors, or antibiotic resistance in this phage, suggesting that this phage can be used safely as a biological agent to control ETEC. Comparative genomic analysis in terms of the tail fiber proteins could provide genetic insight into host recognition and the relationship with other coliphages. These results showed the possibility to improve food safety by applying phage ØCJ19 to foods of animal origin contaminated with ETEC and suggests that it could be the basis for establishing a safety management system in the animal husbandry.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1709-1715
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• 2021

Outbreaks of food poisoning due to the consumption of norovirus-contaminated shellfish continue to occur. Male-specific (F+) coliphage has been suggested as an indicator of viral species due to the association with animal and human wastes. Here, we compared two methods, the double agar overlay and the quantitative real-time PCR (RT-PCR)-based method, for evaluating the applicability of F+ coliphage-based detection technique in microbial contamination tracking of shellfish samples. The RT-PCR-based method showed 1.6-39 times higher coliphage PFU values from spiked shellfish samples, in relation to the double agar overlay method. These differences indicated that the RT-PCR-based technique can detect both intact viruses and non-particle-protected viral DNA/RNA, suggesting that the RT-PCR based method could be a more efficient tool for tracking microbial contamination in shellfish. However, the virome information on F+ coliphage-contaminated oyster samples revealed that the high specificity of the RT-PCR- based method has a limitation in microbial contamination tracking due to the genomic diversity of F+ coliphages. Further research on the development of appropriate primer sets for microbial contamination tracking is therefore necessary. This study provides preliminary insight that should be examined in the search for suitable microbial contamination tracking methods to control the sanitation of shellfish and related seawater.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.594-600
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• 2018

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an important pathogenic bacterium. To control STEC, the characteristics of the ECP33 and NOECP91 coliphages, which belong to the Myoviridae family, were analyzed. The host inhibition range for a total of 44 STEC strains was 45.5% for ECP33 and 65.9% for NOECP91. ECP33 and NOECP91 were relatively stable at $65^{\circ}C$, 50 ppm of sodium hyperchlorite, and a pH value of 4-10. However, the two phages were susceptible to a temperature of $70^{\circ}C$. NOECP91 was killed within 1 h after exposure to 30% ethanol, but ECP33 showed high tolerance even after exposure to 70% ethanol for 1 h. Interestingly, the inhibition of STEC growth according to the multiplicity of infection of 0.1 was confirmed until no growth was observed after 10 hours of culture with the phages. Therefore, the ECP33 and NOECP91 phages may be applied as a biological control agent for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.