Nanozyme colourimetry based on temperate bacteriophage for rapid and sensitive detection of Staphylococcus aureus in food matrices

Although bacteriophage-based biosensors are promising tools for rapid, convenient, and sensitive detection of Staphylococcus aureus in food products, the effect of biosensors using temperate phages as biorecognition elements to detect viable S. aureus isolates remains unclear. In this study, three temperate S. aureus phages were isolated and their biological features (one-step growth, host range, pH stability, temperature stability, and adsorption rate) were evaluated as the biological element. The selected phage SapYZUs8 was immobilized on the nanozyme Cu-MOF via electrostatic interactions to generate SapYZUs8@Cu-MOF, and its detection performance in real food (skim milk and pork) was then evaluated. Compared with phages SapYZUm7 and SapYZUs16, phage SapYZUs8 exhibited a broader host range, greater pH stability (3–12), and a better absorption rate (92 %, 8 min) suitable for S. aureus detection, which is likely the result of the DNA replication (DNA helicase) and phage tail protein genes in the SapYZUs8 genome. Therefore, phage SapYZUs8 was fixed on Cu-MOF to generate SapYZUs8@Cu-MOF, which exhibited good sensitivity and specificity for rapid colourimetric detection of viable S. aureus. The method took <0.5 h, and the detection limit was 1.09 × 102 CFU/mL. In addition, SapYZUs8@Cu-MOF was successfully employed for the colourimetric detection of S. aureus in food samples without interference from different food additives, NaCl concentrations, or pH values. With these benefits, it allows rapid visual assessment of S. aureus levels.