The global dissemination of NDM-1-mediated carbapenem resistance among ESBL-E will make treatment of ESBL-E infections increasingly challenging. Bacteriophage p

The rapid worldwide spread of antibiotic resistance is quickly becoming an increasingly concerning problem for human healthcare. Non-antibiotic antibacterial agents are in high demand for many Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, including Klebsiella pneumoniae. Klebsiella-targeting phages are among the most promising alternative therapy options. They have already been successfully applied in a number of cases, and it is expected that the need for anti-Klebsiella phages will only increase in the future. This prospect highlights the need for well-characterized therapeutic phages. In this work, we describe a K. pneumoniae phage, which also infects strains of Klebsiella oxytoca. Here, we characterize phage M198 in terms of its biological and genetic properties. Since in some phage therapy cases, phages are administered in combination with antibiotics, here, we also screen for possible synergistic effects of combining phage M198 with six different antibiotics. We found that phage M198 has good lytic activity against clinical isolates; it does not have any indications of a temperate lifestyle, and it has synergistic potential when combined with some therapeutically relevant antibiotics.

Aims Sulphate‐reducing bacteria (SRB) are ecologically important group of anaerobic microorganisms that can reduce sulphate to form hydrogen sulphide ‐ a toxic gas causing iron corrosion on metal surfaces. In this work, SRB strains were isolated from aquatic environments in country of Georgia to determine their lysogenicity and the role of temperate phages in host metabolism. Methods and Results SRB strains were isolated in samples from Black Sea coast of Georgia. Based on their genetic, cytological and physiological properties of bacteria, 10 Georgian isolates were assigned to the genus Desulfovibrio. Temperate bacteriophages were induced from three out of ten strains by UV‐exposure. Comparison of metal (Fe and Cr) reduction and utilization of various carbon sources by the wild‐type (lysogenic) bacterial strains and their UV‐irradiated counterparts was done. Conclusions Temperate phage in the cells of SRB could alter significant functions of bacteria and may have a contribution in acquisition of different traits by sulfate‐reducing bacteria. Significance and Impact of Study This article pointed to a significant role for temperate bacteriophages in metabolism and metabolic potential of host strains of SRB, which were first isolated from the aquatic environment of Georgia. Kew words: Bacteriophages, Environmental, Identification, Water, Ecology