Investigation of Acinetobacter baumannii-specific bacteriophage

Purpose: In recent years, the increasing resistance to antibiotics observed in many important bacterial groups has led to a growing interest in the literature regarding phage isolation and characterization, and the expanding clinical potential of phages. Considering the antimicrobial resistance profiles, the isolation of phages to be used in the treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii infections, determination of their action spectrum and characterization are very important. This study aimed to isolate bacteriophages specific to the target microorganism, A. baumannii, from environmental water sources. Materials and Methods: Sixteen different environmental water samples were investigated as potential sources of phages. Clinical isolates of A. baumannii with multi-drug resistant were used as the host bacteria. Phages specific to the target bacteria were isolated using a single plaque isolation method. During in vitro studies, the titers of the isolated phages were increased using the double agar method, and their plaque morphology and host specificity were evaluated. Results: The phage vB_KlAcineto13 exhibited lytic activity exclusively against the target bacterium and did not infect other bacterial isolates. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that phage vB_KlAcineto13 has a narrow host range and does not infect other tested bacteria outside the host bacterium. However, characterization studies are likely to provide more detailed information about the phage.