Isolation and characterization of bacteriophages of Helicobacter pylori isolated from Egypt

Aim: The aim of this work was to isolate and characterize bacteriophages from wastewater for the pathogenic bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Materials \& methods: In this study, we isolated and characterized two phages against H. pylori isolated from gastric biopsies. The specific phages were isolated by the single plaque isolation technique, propagated by the liquid enrichment method and purified by the polyethylene glycol-dextran sulfate two-phase system. Results: The phages were designated as phi HPE1 and phi HPE2; phi HPE1 had a head with a diameter of approximately 62 nm and short noncontractile tail with a length and width of approximately 12 x 6 nm and phi HPE2 had an isometric head with a diameter of approximately 92.5 nm and a tail with a length of approximately 180 nm and width of approximately 15 nm. The host ranges were investigated with four strains of Helicobacter and all strains were susceptible to either phi HPE1 or phi HPE2. Conclusion: These results suggest that it may be possible to use this phage to control the disease caused by H. pylori.