Bacteriophages synergize with the gut microbial community to combat Salmonella

Salmonella infection is one of the key global causes of food-borne diarrheal diseases. Although most Salmonella infections can be cleared without treatment, it remains unknown how healthy human gut microbiota responds to Salmonella infection. In addition, novel treatment options against Salmonella infections are urgently needed due to increasing resistance to antibiotics. This study aims to evaluate how our healthy gut microbiota protects against Salmonella growth and to compare treatments against Salmonella either by phage cocktail or antibiotic. By mimicking Salmonella infection with an Anaerobic Cultivated Human Intestinal Microflora system (ACHIM) in vitro, we observed a strong reduction of Salmonella growth by the ACHIM system itself. Furthermore, we demonstrated additional inhibition of Salmonella growth by Salmonella phage treatment in the ACHIM system. Finally, Salmonella phage treatment displayed specifically targeted effect in clearing Salmonella compared to antibiotic treatment.