Isolation, purification and characterization of environmental micobacteriophages

• Grant number: 12/04911-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: June 01, 2012
• End date: January 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Sylvia Luisa Pincherle Cardoso Leão
• Grantee: James Daltro Lima Junior
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 11/18326-4 - Mycobacteria and extrachromosomal elements: molecular characterization and biotechnological applications, AP.TEM

Abstract

The main diseases attributed to the Mycobacterium genus are caused by M. tuberculosis, M. leprae and M. ulcerans, bacteria that belong to the slow growth mycobacteria group (SGM). However, nosocomial infections involving rapid growth micobacteria group (RGM) has attracted great interest in recent year. Since 1989, ten postsurgical outbreaks caused by RGM infection in ophthalmologic and cosmetics interventions have occurred in Brazil. The RGM group is widespread in environment, thus infections are caused by failure in sanitize surgical instruments and/or bacteria tolerance to disinfectants utilized (alkaline glutaraldehyde). In that context, the research for more efficient strategies about RGM growth control and prevention must be considered. Bacteriophages have arisen as attractive tool for biotechnology applications, either as a therapeutic perspective either at biological control in agriculture. Besides the phage general application, almost none importance has been given to mycobacteriophages in this scenario. In a past scientific initiation work, more than twenty environmental mycobacteriophages were isolated, which six were morphologically and molecularly characterized. Four phages were able to infect INCQS 00594 strain, a clone of mycobacteria that caused more than two thousand postsurgical infection cases between 2004 and 2008. We believe this study may contribute to rise of knowledge about biology of these viruses, also introducing the use of designed lytic phages for the use in disinfection of surgical instruments and/or hospital settings.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LIMA-JUNIOR, JAMES DALTRO; VIANA-NIERO, CRISTINA; CONDE OLIVEIRA, DANIEL V.; MACHADO, GABRIEL ESQUITINI; DA SILVA RABELLO, MICHELLE CRISTIANE; MARTINS-JUNIOR, JOAQUIM; MARTINS, LAYLA FARAGE; DIGIAMPIETRI, LUCIANO ANTONIO; DA SILVA, ALINE MARIA; SETUBAL, JOAO CARLOS; et al. Characterization of mycobacteria and mycobacteriophages isolated from compost at the Sao Paulo Zoo Park Foundation in Brazil and creation of the new mycobacteriophage Cluster U. BMC Microbiology, v. 16, JUN 17 2016. (11/50870-6, 11/18326-4, 12/04911-5, 14/01825-6)