Characterization of four virulent bacteriophages as potential therapeutics for clinical multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

Aim: Bacteriophages are potential candidates for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. We aimed to isolate and characterize phages effective against carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Materials & methods: Water samples were taken for phage isolation. One-step growth curves, morphologies, multiplicity of infections, adsorption assays, thermal and pH stabilities and molecular characterizations of phages were evaluated. Results: Four phages were isolated and characterized, including their latent period, burst sizes, the length of their contractile tails and distinct digestion profiles. Phage genomes were double-stranded and varied in size from 45,076 to 46,549 bp. No known virulence, antibiotic resistance genes or tRNA were found. Conclusion: Evaluated phages in this study are promising for further in vivo experiments and usage as therapeutic agents.