{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T15:39:01Z","timestamp":1770997141114,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":63,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,25]],"date-time":"2020-09-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1600992000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDB\/04469\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/04469\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010661","name":"Horizon 2020","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 713640"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 713640"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010661","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008530","name":"European Regional Development Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004)"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008530","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major causative agent of nosocomial infections, mainly associated with the use of indwelling devices, on which this bacterium forms structures known as biofilms. Due to biofilms\u2019 high tolerance to antibiotics, virulent bacteriophages were previously tested as novel therapeutic agents. However, several staphylococcal bacteriophages were shown to be inefficient against biofilms. In this study, the previously characterized S. epidermidis-specific Sepunavirus phiIBB-SEP1 (SEP1), which has a broad spectrum and high activity against planktonic cells, was evaluated concerning its efficacy against S. epidermidis biofilms. The in vitro biofilm killing assays demonstrated a reduced activity of the phage. To understand the underlying factors impairing SEP1 inefficacy against biofilms, this phage was tested against distinct planktonic and biofilm-derived bacterial populations. Interestingly, SEP1 was able to lyse planktonic cells in different physiological states, suggesting that the inefficacy for biofilm control resulted from the biofilm 3D structure and the protective effect of the matrix. To assess the impact of the biofilm architecture on phage predation, SEP1 was tested in disrupted biofilms resulting in a 2 orders-of-magnitude reduction in the number of viable cells after 6 h of infection. The interaction between SEP1 and the biofilm matrix was further assessed by the addition of matrix to phage particles. Results showed that the matrix did not inactivate phages nor affected phage adsorption. Moreover, confocal laser scanning microscopy data demonstrated that phage infected cells were less predominant in the biofilm regions where the matrix was more abundant. Our results provide compelling evidence indicating that the biofilm matrix can work as a barrier, allowing the bacteria to be hindered from phage infection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v12101076","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,25]],"date-time":"2020-09-25T08:57:32Z","timestamp":1601024252000},"page":"1076","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":37,"title":["The Protective Effect of Staphylococcus epidermidis Biofilm Matrix against Phage Predation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6865-6044","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lu\u00eds D. R.","family":"Melo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Biofilmes Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9348-7553","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gra\u00e7a","family":"Pinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Biofilmes Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7984-8968","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fernando","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Biofilmes Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Diana","family":"Vilas-Boas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Biofilmes Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Carina","family":"Almeida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Biofilmes Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"},{"name":"INIAV, IP\u2014National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research, Vair\u00e3o, 4485-655 Vila Do Conde, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8408-8550","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sanna","family":"Sillankorva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Biofilmes Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"},{"name":"INL-International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre Jos\u00e9 Veiga, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Nuno","family":"Cerca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Biofilmes Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5180-7133","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joana","family":"Azeredo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Biofilmes Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"417","DOI":"10.1586\/erp.09.53","article-title":"Economic burden of healthcare-associated infections: An American perspective","volume":"9","author":"Stone","year":"2009","journal-title":"Expert Rev. Pharmacoecon. 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