Diverse Temperate Coliphages of the Urinary Tract

While <i>Escherichia coli</i> can be found in the bladders of females without lower urinary tract symptoms, its presence is often associated with urinary tract infections (UTIs). The genomic plasticity of <i>E.</i> coli, including urogenital strains, is largely shaped by the integration of prophages. Although genomic and metagenomic analyses of urinary <i>E. coli</i> and the urinary microbiome suggest that prophages are abundant, many represent uncharacterized species. Sequence analysis suggests that these prophages represent temperate phages. This study aimed to fill this gap, isolating and characterizing temperate phages from urinary <i>E. coli</i> strains. We assessed phage host range across a panel of urinary isolates, providing a critical first step for future work investigating their putative role in shaping <i>E. coli</i> populations within the urinary community. In total, 20 temperate urinary phages were evaluated. Phage morphology and genic content of these phages were determined via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and whole-genome sequencing, respectively. Together, these analyses provide insight into the diversity, infectivity, and genomic composition of temperate coliphages from the female urinary tract.