{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T05:08:07Z","timestamp":1778821687208,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000780","name":"European Union","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["ECS00000022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ECS00000022"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000780","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic Gram-negative pathogen frequently associated with chronic and biofilm-related infections, largely driven by quorum sensing (QS)-related genes\/phenotypes. In this study, we investigated the antivirulence activity of an engineered M13-derived phage-display particle (P9b), selected for specific binding to P. aeruginosa, which acts as a non-lytic modulator of QS through specific binding to a bacterial surface target. P9b induced a transient delay in early planktonic growth, without affecting long-term proliferation. In contrast, P9b significantly reduced biofilm-associated metabolic activity and pyocyanin production, consistent with an effect on QS-regulated pathways. Transcriptional analysis revealed significant downregulation of key QS regulators (lasI, lasR, rhlI, and rhlR) and modulation of phenazine biosynthesis genes (phzM downregulation and phzS upregulation), suggesting interference with QS-dependent regulatory circuits. Notably, P9b retained binding capacity and antibiofilm activity across clinically relevant P. aeruginosa isolates. Overall, these findings indicate that P9b acts as a selective, non-lytic modulator of virulence-associated traits, attenuating QS-regulated phenotypes without bactericidal effects. This study supports the potential of engineered filamentous phages as targeted antivirulence platforms for the development of innovative strategies against persistent and biofilm-associated infections.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14051028","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T06:50:01Z","timestamp":1777618201000},"page":"1028","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Engineered Phage Modulates Quorum Sensing and Biofilm Formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2104-5465","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Domenico","family":"Franco","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d\u2019Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6433-1293","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Salvatore","family":"Papasergi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Translational Pharmacology of the National Research Council, Via Fosso del Cavaliere, 100 (c\/o Area di Ricerca di Tor Vergata), 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-0052-757X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Mediati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d\u2019Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers\u2019 Compensation Authority (INAIL), Contrada Ficarella, 88046 Lamezia Terme, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0401-6400","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Salvatore P. P.","family":"Guglielmino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d\u2019Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1152-948X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura Maria","family":"De Plano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d\u2019Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"A114","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajic.2023.04.158","article-title":"Biofilms on Medical Instruments and Surfaces: Do They Interfere with Instrument Reprocessing and Surface Disinfection","volume":"51","author":"Weber","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am. J. Infect. 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