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| Shigella phage A1-1 By Kortright et al., 2022. AEM 2022, 88(e01514). CC BY-4.0 |
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Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Helminthosporium victoriae 145S virus
News item
Journal Paper:
Kortright KE, Done RE, Chan BK, Souza V, Turner PE. 2022. Selection for Phage Resistance Reduces Virulence of Shigella flexneri. Appl Environ Microbiol 88:e01514-21.
Other interesting stories:
Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
Takeaways
Using bacteria-killing viruses to treat bacterial infections, or phage therapy, can be a good alternative to antibiotics in some situations when there are no effective antibiotics for a particular infection. But bacteria can evolve resistance to phages as well as antibiotics, often with little cost to their fitness.
In this study, a phage not only could treat an infection by attacking the bacteria, but the bacterial hosts that do evolve resistance to the phage do so by getting rid of certain structures that help them to cause more serious infection. Thus, therapy with this phage may both reduce the bacterial load and also make those remaining less virulent.
In this study, a phage not only could treat an infection by attacking the bacteria, but the bacterial hosts that do evolve resistance to the phage do so by getting rid of certain structures that help them to cause more serious infection. Thus, therapy with this phage may both reduce the bacterial load and also make those remaining less virulent.
Kortright KE, Done RE, Chan BK, Souza V, Turner PE. 2022. Selection for Phage Resistance Reduces Virulence of Shigella flexneri. Appl Environ Microbiol 88:e01514-21.
Other interesting stories:
- Plastic-eating bacteria could produce biodegradable plastic
- Harmless variant of acne bacteria could help prevent more serious skin infection
Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
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