{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T21:06:47Z","timestamp":1792789607952,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Guangxi Key R&D Program","award":["AB241484013"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AB241484013"]}]},{"name":"Guangxi Key R&D Program","award":["FN2600640636"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FN2600640636"]}]},{"name":"Guangxi Forestry Science and Technology Program","award":["2026GXZCLK06"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2026GXZCLK06"]}]},{"name":"Guangxi Forestry Science and Technology Program","award":["2025GXZCLK09"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025GXZCLK09"]}]},{"name":"Guangxi Forestry Science and Technology Program","award":["2025GXZCLK11"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025GXZCLK11"]}]},{"name":"Guangxi Forestry Science and Technology Program","award":["2025GXZCLK60"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025GXZCLK60"]}]},{"name":"Guangxi Forestry Science and Technology Program","award":["2024GXZCLK37"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024GXZCLK37"]}]},{"name":"Nanning Key R&D Program","award":["NNKJ202408"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NNKJ202408"]}]},{"name":"China Agriculture Resrearch System","award":["CARS-42-55"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-42-55"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03p5eky76","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["CARS-42-55"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-42-55"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03p5eky76","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Open Project of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biological Products","award":["Guike 25-05"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Guike 25-05"]}]},{"award":["Guike 25-05"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Guike 25-05"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00qxm3x60","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Colibacillosis caused by avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) remains an important bacterial disease in poultry production and is increasingly difficult to control because of antimicrobial resistance. In this study, a lytic phage, ND-4, was isolated from poultry-farm sewage using the O2:K1 APEC strain IMT5155 as the host, and its biological characteristics, genome features and preliminary application potential were evaluated. ND-4 formed clear plaques on IMT5155 and showed a tailed morphology, with an elliptical head of 110 \u00b1 5 nm by 82 \u00b1 5 nm and a tail of 97 \u00b1 5 nm by 18 \u00b1 2 nm, giving a total virion length of approximately 204 \u00b1 10 nm. The phage had an optimal multiplicity of infection of 0.01, a latent period of 20 min, a 50 min burst period and a burst size of 231 PFU\/cell. ND-4 remained active across pH 4\u20139 and at temperatures up to 60 \u00b0C, and it retained titers above 108 PFU\/mL after exposure to chloroform concentrations up to 15%. Whole-genome sequencing revealed a 154,669 bp double-stranded DNA genome with 184 predicted open reading frames and a G + C content of 48.98%. No virulence or antimicrobial resistance genes were detected. ND-4 reduced biofilm biomass in vitro and decreased tissue bacterial loads and alleviated hepatic inflammation and vacuolar degeneration in IMT5155-challenged chicks. These results indicate that ND-4 is a promising candidate for further development as a phage-based control agent against APEC infection, although larger in vivo studies are needed to define its efficacy, dosing window and biosafety profile.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life16091549","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T13:50:27Z","timestamp":1789566627000},"page":"1549","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Characterization of Escherichia Phage ND-4 Against Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli IMT5155 and Its Preliminary Application in Chicks"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0986-4476","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leping","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of China (Guangxi)-ASEAN Transboundary Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanning 530001, China"},{"name":"Guangxi Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Guangxi Veterinary Research Institute, Nanning 530001, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Jiahe","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of the Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Guotai","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, 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