Monitoring phage-induced lysis of gram-negatives in real time using a fluorescent DNA dye.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that specifically attack bacteria. Their use as therapeutics, which constitutes a promising alternative to antibiotics, heavily relies on selecting effective lytic phages against the pathogen of interest. Current selection techniques are laborious and do not allow for direct visualization of phage infection dynamics. Here, we present a method that circumvents these limitations. It can be scaled for high-throughput and permits monitoring of the phage infection in real time via a fluorescence signal readout. This is achieved through the use of a membrane-impermeant nucleic acid dye that stains the DNA of damaged or lysed bacteria and new phage progeny. We have tested the method on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae and show that an increase i

SUBMITTER: Egido JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9842612 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature