Effectiveness of newly isolated bacteriophages targeting multidrug-resistant Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli strain (TZ1_3) in food preservation and mice health modulation

Youshun Jin; Wei Li; Hafiz Muhammad Hamza Rasool; Xuan Ning; Xuli Ba; Yidan Gao; Xinyu Guo; Tao Ran; Jizhang Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.142833

Effectiveness of newly isolated bacteriophages targeting multidrug-resistant Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli strain (TZ1_3) in food preservation and mice health modulation

Food Chem. 2025 Jan 13:472:142833. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.142833. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Youshun Jin¹, Wei Li², Hafiz Muhammad Hamza Rasool², Xuan Ning³, Xuli Ba³, Yidan Gao⁴, Xinyu Guo⁴, Tao Ran⁴, Jizhang Zhou⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39827555
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.142833

Abstract

Bacteriophages are promising alternatives for combating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Two lytic bacteriophages, named P1 and P3, targeting pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC; strain TZ1_3) were isolated and evaluated for their potential ability to control pathogenic numbers either in ExPEC-contaminated food or ExPEC-infected mice. Results showed that phages significantly reduced ExPEC numbers within 6 and 12 h in contaminated water, milk, beef, and chicken when applied at 10⁶ plaque-forming units (PFU). Notably, phage therapy administered via intraperitoneal injection (10¹² PFU) effectively reduced ExPEC numbers in the heart, liver, spleen and kidney, restored α-diversity of gut microbes, and increased levels of acetic (13.98 %-37.58 %) and valeric acid (10.27 %-31.51 %) in ExPEC-infected mice. Additionally, phage injections caused no detrimental effects on body weight (which increased by 6.49 %-8.11 %), and on gut microbes in healthy mice. Overall, this study highlights the potential of phages in controlling foodborne microorganisms.

Keywords: Food biocontrol; Gut microbiota; Multi-drug-resistant bacteria; Phage therapy; Phages; Short chain fatty acids.