Amna  Aftab

Ms. Amna Aftab


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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3 June 2026 in Canadian Journal of Microbiology
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
AAAmna Aftab
Amna Aftab
AHAbid Hussain
Abid Hussain
SSSaba Saba
Saba Saba
AAAATIF AMIN
AATIF AMIN
MCMohsin Tassawar Cheema
Mohsin Tassawar Cheema
Mohsin KhurshidMohsin Khurshid
Mohsin Khurshid
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major opportunistic pathogen responsible for severe human infections and is increasingly associated with multidrug resistance and limited treatment options. In this study, we isolated and characterized bacteriophages targeting drug-resistant P. aeruginosa strains and evaluated their capacity to disrupt biofilms and modulate biofilm-associated gene expression. Phages recovered from sewage showed broad lytic activity against P. aeruginosa and were classified morphologically into the families Podoviridae and Myoviridae. Two phages, A2 and A4, exhibited the highest lytic activity against the resistant strains examined. Both phages significantly degraded preformed biofilms, with phage A4 showing comparatively stronger antibiofilm activity. In addition, phage exposure altered the expression of several biofilm-associated genes, including pelA, htpB, bifA, psl, fimW, and wspA. A notable finding was the reversal of bifA expression from downregulation at 12 h to upregulation at 24 h following treatment with phage A4. Collectively, these results demonstrate that phages A2 and A4 possess strong lytic and antibiofilm activities and are capable of modulating biofilm-associated transcriptional responses in drug-resistant P. aeruginosa. The findings support the potential application of bacteriophages as alternative therapeutic agents against drug-resistant biofilm-associated infections.