Plaque morphology of lytic bacteriophages infecting Escherichia coli isolated from sewage and river samples of Curitiba, Brazil

Abstract

Bacteriophages, natural viruses targeting bacteria, present a promising solution to the persistent chal-lenge of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in human and veterinary medicine. Despite a century of efforts, this issue remains unresolved. Regardless, this paper focused on illustrating the plaque morphologies that were disclosed by bacteriophages isolated from rivers and urban sewage from Curitiba, Paraná, southern Brazil. Laboratory analysis unveiled distinctive features in the macromorphology of Escherichia coli phage plaques, representing various morphotypes. Obtaining this data is a relatively quick and inexpensive process that highlights the significance of primary screening for the successful recovery of phages to be further used in combating E. coli through phage technology.