Invited Speaker Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting 2022

Two-step receptor binding required for bacteriophage infection of Klebsiella pneumoniae. (82071)

Rhys A Dunstan 1 2 , Rebecca S Bamert 1 2 , Derek J Pickard 3 , Gordon Dougan 3 , Francesca L Short 1 2 , Trevor Lithgow 1 2
  1. Centre to Impact AMR, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  2. Infection Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  3. Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, UK

Bacteriophages, or phages, are the most abundant biological entities on the planet and play a significant role in shaping bacterial populations within different environmental niches. In order to infect its host, a phage must first adsorb to a bacterial cell. This process may involve the initial reversible binding to a bacterial surface structure followed by irreversible recognition and attachment to a receptor by the phage’s receptor binding protein (RBP), triggering the injection of its genome into its host. We have isolated and characterised several phages that infect the important nosocomial pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, little is known as to how different phages recognise K. pneumoniae cells for infection. We utilised a functional genomics screen to identify essential genes, in terms of receptors, that are critical for phage infection of K. pneumoniae. In this presentation, I will discuss our recent findings on how novel phages target important Klebsiella surface structures and the characterisation of different phage RBPs that mediate these interactions. This study provides a framework for characterising the targeting requirements of other Klebsiella phages that could have potential therapeutic or biotechnological uses.