{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T14:46:37Z","timestamp":1773931597240,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":71,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773878400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria","award":["BG-RRP-2.004-0008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BG-RRP-2.004-0008"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In response to the alarming rise in antimicrobial resistance, bacteriophages have re-emerged as a promising alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy. The main objective of this paper was to characterize a newly isolated phage (vB_SEC_3) in the context of its suitability for phage therapy against MDR E. coli, which is considered a priority pathogen. The phage was characterized at the morphological, genomic, and biological levels relevant to phage therapy. TEM analyses revealed a non-enveloped icosahedral capsid lacking tail structure. Phylogenetic and tANI analyses placed the phage within the \u03b13 phages (genus Alphatrevirus) of the less-studied family Microviridae and revealed &lt;95% similarity to its closest relatives, suggesting vB_SEC_3 is a putative novel species within this genus. The genome (6085 bp, GC content 45.3%) displayed the conserved organization typical for these phages, including overlapping genes. No known genes associated with lysogeny, antibiotic resistance, or virulence were detected. Briefly, vB_SEC_3 was able to effectively lyse two MDR strains of E. coli (S1 and B5, EOP 0.735 and 0.961, respectively). Tolerance to a wide pH range (4\u201310.5) and to temperatures up to 80 \u00b0C was established. Six-month storage of the crude lysate at 4 \u00b0C resulted in a slight decrease (&lt;0.16 log10 PFU\/mL) in phage titer. This study provides additional insights into the biology and diversity of Microviridae phages and offers a basis for future investigations into their potential relevance in the context of combating MDR bacteria.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15030330","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T11:50:36Z","timestamp":1773921036000},"page":"330","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Exploring the Antibacterial Properties of a Newly Isolated Microviridae Phage Against Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1140-4671","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yoana","family":"Kizheva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Industrial Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9599-4209","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Pandova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Industrial Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4452-2321","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zoltan","family":"Urshev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"RnD Department, LB Bulgaricum Plc., 1407 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yoana","family":"Gladicheva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Industrial Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8376-8917","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tsvetelina","family":"Paunova-Krasteva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Science, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sergei","family":"Ivanov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Group, Microbiological Risks in the Environment, Sofia University \u201cSt. Kliment Ohridski\u201d, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9858-3301","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Petya","family":"Hristova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Industrial Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"371","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijantimicag.2018.11.010","article-title":"Antibiotic discovery: History, methods and perspectives","volume":"53","author":"Durand","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. 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