Urinary bacteriophages in pediatric urinary tract infections

BACKGROUND: Bacteriophages are a long-overlooked component of the virobiota that have the potential to shape mammalian immunity. The aim of our study was to identify a bacteriophages communities in urinary tract infections (UTIs). METHODS: We sampled the urine from 151 children having urinary tract infections, and 49 healthy controls. We decide to investigate at least one of the member of Caudovirales and Microviridae by real time PCR on urine. RESULTS: We demonstrate that bacteriophage phi V10 was more abundant in UTIs than in healthy subjects (P<0.004) and at the contrary, bacteriophage phi FL4A was more abundant in healthy subjects that in UTI samples. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated in UTIs an abundance of bacteriophage phi V10. Further studies will be necessary to understand how resident prokaryotic phages and eukaryotic viruses shape commensal bacterial communities.