ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
Pooja Sachdeva1, Gopal Nath2 and Utkarsh Jain1
1School of Health Sciences and Technology (SoHST), UPES, Bidholi, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.
2Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Article Number: 11096 | © The Author(s). 2026
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2026;20(2):1476-1484. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.20.2.36
Received: 31 October 2025 | Accepted: 27 January 2026 | Published online: 18 May 2026
Issue online: June 2026
Abstract

Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is a World Health Organization priority pathogen associated with hospital associated outbreaks. Its occurrence in vegetables and fruits is limited, with only a few reports till now but raising concerns regarding unnoticed community and hospital transmission. Grapes and environmental samples were screened for A. baumannii and cultured on selective media, bacteria were identified using species-specific PCR, VITEK, and biochemical testing. CLSI 2024 guidelines were used for antimicrobial susceptibility. Bacteriophages were isolated from Ganga, sewage, soil by enrichment, purification and plaque assay was done. Stability was measured throughout pH 3-10 and -80 °C to 60 °C, and transmission electron microscopy was used to analyse the morphology. A. baumannii isolates from different sources as soil and grapes showed resistance to multiple antibiotics. Five bacteriophages were isolated, ΦABGR01 and ΦABGR03, showed strong in vitro lytic activity against A. baumannii. These phages were stable and active across a wide pH (3-10) and temperature (-80 °C to 60 °C). Transmission electron microscopy revealed a podovirus morphotype with an icosahedral capsid and a short, non-contractile tail. This is the first report of MDR A. baumannii isolated from retail grapes in India, indicating a potential foodborne reservoir for this critical pathogen. Strong in vitro stability and activity were shown by environmental lytic phages, highlighting their potential as alternative treatments. These results underline the necessity of more thorough food safety monitoring as well as upcoming research that includes both in vivo and genomic validation.

Keywords

Acinetobacter baumannii, Bacteriophage, Multidrug-resistance, Grapes, Food Safety, One Health

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© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.