Articles
Turner, D.,
Adriaenssens, E.M.,
Amann, R.I.,
Bardy, P.,
Bartlau, N.,
Barylski, J.,
Błażejak, S.,
Bouzari, M.,
Briegel, A.,
Briers, Y.,
Journal of General Virology (00221317)106(7)
This article summarises the activities of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses Bacterial Viruses Subcommittee, detailing developments in the classification of bacterial viruses. We provide here an overview of all new, abolished, moved and renamed taxa proposed in 2024, approved by the Executive Committee, and ratified by membership vote in 2025. Through the collective efforts of 74 international contributors of taxonomy proposals in this round, 43 ratified proposals have led to the creation of one new phylum, one class, four orders, 33 families, 14 subfamilies, 194 genera and 995 species. These proposals mark significant progress in refining the taxonomy of bacterial viruses. Key updates include the creation of new orders and families that include existing taxa to better reflect genomic and evolutionary relationships. As sequencing and bioinformatics approaches continue to advance, further expansion and refinements in viral taxonomy can be anticipated in the coming years. © 2025 Microbiology Society. All rights reserved.
The most frequent infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa are local infections in soft tissues, including burns. Today, phage use is considered a suitable alternative to cure infections caused by multi-drug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria. We investigated the potential of a novel phage (vB_PaS-HSN4) belonging to Caudoviricetes class, against XDR and MDR P. aeruginosa strains in vivo and in vitro. Its biological and genetic characteristics were investigated. The phage burst size and latent were 119 and 20 min, respectively. It could tolerate a broad range of salt concentrations, pH values, and temperatures. The combination with ciprofloxacin significantly enhanced biofilm removal after 24 h. The genome was dsDNA with a size of 44,534 bp and encoded 61 ORFs with 3 tRNA and 5 promoters. No virulence factor was observed in the phage genome. In the in vivo infection model, treatment with vB_PaS-HSN4 increased Galleria mellonella larvae survival (80%, 66%, and 60%) (MOI 100) and (60%, 40%, and 26%) (MOI 1) in the pre-treatment, co-treatment, and post-treatment experiments, respectively. Based on these characteristics, it can be considered for the cure of infections of burns caused by P. aeruginosa. © 2024, The Author(s).
