Isolation and Genomic Analysis of Escherichia Phage AUBRB02: Implications for Phage Therapy in Lebanon

We obtained a new and unique Escherichia phage, AUBRB02, from sewage water in Beirut, Lebanon, as part of this research. AUBRB02 has an incubation period of around 45 minutes, a lysis period of about 10 minutes, and a burst size of around 30 plaque-forming units per cell. The phage exhibited strong biological stability over a pH range of 5.0–9.0 and temperatures ranging from 4°C to 60°C. AUBRB02 was found to have a genome size of 166,871 base pairs and a G+C content of 35.47% using whole-genome sequencing. A comparative analysis revealed that AUBRB02, a newly found phage, shares 93% intergenomic similarity to closest relative in refseq. Functional annotation revealed the presence of 10 tRNA and 262 coding sequences, out of which 123 are categorized as putative proteins. These results indicate that AUBRB02 is a highly infectious virus that belongs to the Tequatrovirus genus. This study is significant reference information that can be used in the development of phage therapy. IMPORTANCE Escherichia coli , a gram-negative bacterium, is a widely distributed pathogen in the natural environment and a frequent cause of illnesses. The extensive utilization of antibiotics has resulted in a rise of clinically resistant strains, posing a substantial obstacle to antimicrobial therapy. This urgent circumstance highlights the necessity for antibiotic substitutes to combat E. coli infections. In this context, we introduce AUBRB02, a novel Escherichia phage isolated from an untreated sewage source in Beirut. Our findings indicate that AUBRB02 is highly lytic, stable against extreme culturing conditions, and has a biofilm elimination capability.