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Antibiotics resistance is expanding amongst pathogenic bacteria. Phage therapy is a revived concept for targeting bacteria with multiple antibiotics resistances. In the present study, we isolated and characterized a novel phage from hospital treatment plant input, using Escherichia coli (E. coli) as host bacterium. Phage lytic activity was detected by using soft agar assay. Whole-genome sequencing of the phage was performed by using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Host range was determined using other species of bacteria and representative genogroups of E. coli. Whole-genome sequencing of the phage revealed that Escherichia phage Ioannina is a novel phage within the Dhillonvirus genus, but significantly diverged from other Dhillonviruses. Its genome is a 45,270 bp linear double-stranded DNA molecule that encodes 61 coding sequences (CDSs). The coding sequence of CDS28, a putative tail fiber protein, presented higher similarity to representatives of other phage families, signifying a possible recombination event. Escherichia phage Ioannina lytic activity was broad amongst the E. coli genogroups of clinical and environmental origin with multiple resistances. This phage may present in the future an important therapeutic tool against bacterial strains with multiple antibiotic resistances.

Abstract Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is becoming an attractive analytical technique for the next generation of breath diagnostics. However, current SERS substrates present challenges related to fabrication cost, complexity, signal uniformity, and reproducibility. Here, a low‐cost, label‐free SERS sensor based on fully solution‐processed decoration of TiO2 nanowires is demonstrated (NW) with plasmonic Au nanoparticles (NP) followed by the dielectrophoretic self‐assembly into a 3D mesh with high signal to noise ratio. The sensor performance is tested using 4‐aminothiophenol (4‐ATP) as a model analyte in gas phase, at concentrations down to 10 ppbv, and in solution, with limit of detection ≈2.4 pM. Finally, to explore the sensor capability for breath‐based diagnostics, a proof‐of‐concept experiment is performed with exhaled breath condensates (EBCs). The possibility to discriminate EBCs of individuals with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) from healthy ones is demonstrated. Multiple SERS spectra (n≈50) from each sample are analyzed using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA), which identifies spectral features representative of URTI in up to 80% of the infection‐related spectra. These results demonstrate the applicability and potential of 1D nanomaterials together with state‐of‐the‐art solution‐processed techniques for the development of low‐cost and compact SERS breath‐based diagnostic platforms for clinical point‐of‐care applications.

Human papillomaviruses are DNA viruses that ubiquitously infect humans and have been associated with hyperproliferative lesions. The recently discovered mouse specific papillomavirus (MmuPV1) provides the opportunity to study papillomavirus infections in vivo in the context of a common laboratory mouse model (Mus musculus). To date, a major challenge in the field has been the lack of tools to identify, observe, and characterize individually the papillomavirus hosting cells and also trace the progeny of these cells over time. Here, we present the successful generation of an in vivo lineage-tracing model of MmuPV1-harboring cells and their progeny by means of genetic reporter activation. Following the validation of the system both in vitro and in vivo, we used it to provide a proof-of-concept of its utility. Using flow-cytometry analysis, we observed increased proliferation dynamics and decreased MHC-I cell surface expression in MmuPV1-treated tissues which could have implications in tissue regenerative capacity and ability to clear the virus. This model is a novel tool to study the biology of the MmuPV1 host-pathogen interactions.