Work

Isolation, characterization, and biocontrol potential of a novel lytic phage vB_VpaS_R27Z against Vibrio parahaemolyticus for mitigating seafood contamination

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a critical seafood-borne pathogen that poses substantial risks to food safety and public health. Effective mitigation of this bacterium in fresh and minimally processed seafood remains challenging, since conventional antimicrobial treatments induce antibiotic resistance and degrade the sensory quality of seafood products. As natural antimicrobial agents, lytic bacteriophages represent a targeted alternative to antibiotics for suppressing V. parahaemolyticus in seafood. In this study, we isolated and characterized a novel lytic bacteriophage, vB_VpaS_R27Z (R27Z), targeting V. parahaemolyticus , and further assessed its biocontrol potential against this pathogen in seafood matrices. Phage R27Z exhibited siphoviral morphology, featuring an icosahedral capsid and a long non-contractile tail. It possesses a short latent period of 20 min and a burst size of approximately 58 PFU per infected cell, reflecting its high lytic replication efficiency. R27Z is stable at a broad temperature range of 4°C to 50°C and a pH range from 5 to 10, suggesting tolerance to conditions relevant to seafood handling and storage. Genomic analysis revealed that the genome size of R27Z was 51,052 bp and it contained 64 open reading frames. Notably, no genes associated with lysogeny, bacterial virulence, or antibiotic resistance were detected within its genome, which is essential for food applications. In vitro growth inhibition assays demonstrated that R27Z inhibited V. parahaemolyticus growth at multiplicities of infection (MOIs) of 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100, with the strongest early-phase inhibition observed at MOIs of 10 and 100. Furthermore, R27Z markedly suppressed V. parahaemolyticus on both fish flesh and fish skin, with maximum reductions of 3.62 log 10 and 2.84 log 10 units at an MOI of 1 alongside rising recoverable phage titers throughout treatment, confirming host-supported replication in these food matrices. Collectively, these results highlighted that R27Z could act as a potential alternative natural biocontrol agent against V. parahaemolyticus in seafood products.

Source: Current Research in Food Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.crfs.2026.101602