Pre-Treatment With Polysaccharide Depolymerase Enhances the Infective Performance of Klebsiella Phage KP1079

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a dangerous pathogen, the causative agent of pneumonia, intragastric and urinary infections, frequently characterized by multidrug resistance. This study describes a novel bacteriophage KP1079 capable of lysing the clinical K. pneumoniae 1079 strain. The adsorption dynamics and the latent period of the phage in the isolation host were studied. The phage adsorbed onto intact host cells quite slowly, which is explained by the fact that exopolysaccharide prevents the attachment of phage particles. Treatment of cells with phage KPPK108.1 depolymerase, which degrades the same type of polysaccharide, significantly accelerated adsorption, shortened the latent period, and increased phage burst. The complete phage genome was sequenced, and the structure of tail fiber tip - receptor binding protein (RBP) was modelled using AlphaFold software. In addition, a phylogenetic analysis was performed, which showed that this phage belongs to a monophyletic clade, including phages of the genus Jiaodavirus of the Tevenvirinae subfamily of the Myoviridae family.