Synergistic Antibacterial Effect and Mechanism of Allicin and an Enterobacter cloacae Bacteriophage.

ABSTRACT: Enterobacter cloacae is a troublesome pathogen causing refractory infections of the lower respiratory tract, urethra and abdominal cavity, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and neonatal septicemia. It is prone to developing resistance to ordinary antibiotics and has brought a serious problem to clinical treatment. An artful synergistic combination of an antibacterial natural product allicin and a newly isolated bacteriophage, named BD523, was constructed herein. This combination significantly lowered effective dosage of allicin and effectually overcame bacterial drug-resistance. We experimentally evidenced that allicin interacts with bacterial DNA in the groove region by inserting itself into the DNA double helix and, subsequently, disrupts the bacterial DNA by cleaving phosphate diester bonds

SUBMITTER: Tao Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9927155 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature