A novel lytic phage with potent efficacy against Bacillus cereus, its biofilms and spores, and biocontrol potential in food matrices.
- 1National Risk Assessment Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistance of Animal Original Bacteria, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
- 2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmaceutics Development and Safety Evaluation, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
Abstract
To address the severe threat posed by Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) and its spores to food safety, this study isolated and characterized a novel lytic phage, WAH2, using a multidrug-resistant B. cereus strain as the host. Morphological observation showed that WAH2 had an icosahedral head and a contractile tail. The phage lysed 7 of 51 (13.7%) B. cereus strains covering 3 sequence types. Biological characterization showed that the optimal multiplicity of infection of WAH2 was 0.0001. It remained stable at 4-45 °C, pH 5-11, and 2%-10% NaCl. Its latent period was 30 min, and the burst size was 208 PFU/cell. Genome analysis showed that WAH2 possesses a linear double-stranded DNA genome of 158991 bp with a GC content of 37.96%. It encodes 284 open reading frames and 6 tRNA genes. No antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors, or lysogeny-related elements were detected. WAH2 was classified as a novel species within the genus Bastillevirus, family Herelleviridae. In vitro assays showed that WAH2 strongly inhibited host bacterial growth (no regrowth within 36 h), significantly reduced biofilm formation and disrupted mature biofilms, and effectively inhibited the outgrowth of germinated spores. Importantly, in food matrices such as milk, rice, and pork, WAH2 significantly reduced or completely eliminated B. cereus in a dose- and time-dependent manner at both 25 and 4 °C, with no regrowth observed. In TSB and milk, WAH2 persisted for 120 h without detectable resistant survivors. In summary, WAH2 is a safe, efficient, and promising phage that can serve as a biocontrol candidate against B. cereus in food.
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BibTeX
@article{wan2026novel,
title = {{A novel lytic phage with potent efficacy against Bacillus cereus, its biofilms and spores, and biocontrol potential in food matrices.}},
author = {Peng Wan and Zhengyuan He and Weiqi Liu and Honghao Huang and Huan Chen and Sihan Lin and Wenguang Xiong and Zhenling Zeng},
journal = {Current research in food science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.crfs.2026.101603},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42959454},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A novel lytic phage with potent efficacy against Bacillus cereus, its biofilms and spores, and biocontrol potential in food matrices.
AU - Peng Wan
AU - Zhengyuan He
AU - Weiqi Liu
AU - Honghao Huang
AU - Huan Chen
AU - Sihan Lin
AU - Wenguang Xiong
AU - Zhenling Zeng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Current research in food science
DO - 10.1016/j.crfs.2026.101603
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42959454
AB - To address the severe threat posed by Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) and its spores to food safety, this study isolated and characterized a novel lytic phage, WAH2, using a multidrug-resistant B. cereus strain as the host. Morphological observation showed that WAH2 had an icosahedral head and a contractile tail. The phage lysed 7 of 51 (13.7%) B. cereus strains covering 3 sequence types. Biological characterization showed that the optimal multiplicity of infection of WAH2 was 0.0001. It remained stable at 4-45 °C, pH 5-11, and 2%-10% NaCl. Its latent period was 30 min, and the burst size was 208 PFU/cell. Genome analysis showed that WAH2 possesses a linear double-stranded DNA genome of 158991 bp with a GC content of 37.96%. It encodes 284 open reading frames and 6 tRNA genes. No antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors, or lysogeny-related elements were detected. WAH2 was classified as a novel species within the genus Bastillevirus, family Herelleviridae. In vitro assays showed that WAH2 strongly inhibited host bacterial growth (no regrowth within 36 h), significantly reduced biofilm formation and disrupted mature biofilms, and effectively inhibited the outgrowth of germinated spores. Importantly, in food matrices such as milk, rice, and pork, WAH2 significantly reduced or completely eliminated B. cereus in a dose- and time-dependent manner at both 25 and 4 °C, with no regrowth observed. In TSB and milk, WAH2 persisted for 120 h without detectable resistant survivors. In summary, WAH2 is a safe, efficient, and promising phage that can serve as a biocontrol candidate against B. cereus in food.
SN - 2665-9271
ER -