Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Microbiology/Immunology/Virology
Session: 2
Room: Virginia B
Muyideen Haruna - Morgan State University
Co-Author(s): Funmilayo Omole, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD; Mathumathi Rajavel, Ph. D, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
University athletic facilities have been the source of community acquired infections among students in many college campuses by sharing a common athletic equipment. Last year, we surveyed our university athletes training room facility, and we had identified the presence of bacterial community including Staphylococcus aureus NBRC100910; 12600 and Staphylococcus cohinii on selective equipment surfaces confirmed by 16S rRNA sequencing. In this current study, our objective is to first isolate lytic bacteriophages that are effective against these two specific Staphylococcal pathogens and subsequently determine its host range specificity. Toward this, we first collected 15 soil samples (MSU1-15) from various locations at our university grounds. Next, we employed our laboratory standardized methods for phage isolation and determined its efficacy by spot test method. Our preliminary results indicated positive for lytic phages presence, from 5 samples supernatant labeled Mφ-2, Mφ-6, Mφ-8, Mφ-9 and Mφ-13 for the Staphylococcus aureus NBRC100910; 12600. We also performed phage enrichment for this isolate by mixing each of the soil samples with Staphylococcus aureus NBRC100910; 12600 and after overnight incubation, samples were centrifuged and the supernatant filtered with 0.45 micron SFCA membrane filters. These supernatants tested by spot test method on the indicator bacteria yielded positive for lytic phages presence from 4 samples labeled Eφ-3, Eφ-5, Eφ-14, and Eφ-15. Additional plaque purification of these phages are warranted prior to further characterization and thus are under investigation at present. Similar efforts to isolate phages using MSU1-15 samples on our lab isolate Staphylococcus cohinii yielded no phages. In conclusion, we used Staphylococcus aureus NBRC100910; 12600 as bait and have successfully isolated bacteriophages for this isolate from our university grounds. Further characterization of these phages including host range analysis and molecular sequencing are currently under investigation. References: Kyle C. Jensen, Bryan B. Hair, Trevor M. Wienclaw, Mark H. Murdock, Jacob B. Hatch, Aaron T. Trent, Tyler D. White, Kyler J. Haskell, Bradford K. Berges. (2015). Isolation and Host Range of Bacteriophage with Lytic Activity against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Potential Use as a Fomite Decontaminant. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0131714.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): I would like to acknowledge the financial support from Morgan State University School of Graduate Studies, and my research mentor, Dr. Mathumathi Rajavel and lab members Funmilayo Omole, Caroline Ndirangu and Gianna Montanez. MR would like to thank the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institute of Health under Award Number ULIGM118973.
Faculty Advisor: Mathumathi Rajavel, Ph.D, mathumathi.rajavel@morgan.edu
Role: The bacteriophage isolation and testing by spot test on Staphylococcus aureus strains.