Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 20, 2025
09:01
Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
Published on: September 28, 2022
2.6K
Adapting a Phage to Combat Phage Resistance.
Elina Laanto1,2, Kati Mäkelä2, Ville Hoikkala2
1Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 4, 2020
Summary
Bacterial resistance to phage therapy is a challenge, but experimental phage adaptation can overcome it. Evolved phages regained infectivity against resistant bacteria but showed reduced adsorption, highlighting a trade-off in phage therapy development.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacteriology
- Virology
- Genetics
Background:
- Antibiotic resistance necessitates alternative treatments like phage therapy.
- Bacterial resistance to bacteriophages (phages) can limit treatment efficacy.
- Experimental phage adaptation aims to restore infectivity against resistant hosts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate phage-host interactions and bacterial resistance evolution.
- To adapt a myophage (FCV-1) to overcome resistance in *Flavobacterium columnare*.
- To characterize trade-offs in phage infectivity and host range after adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Co-culturing of myophage FCV-1 with *Flavobacterium columnare* in lake water.
- Isolation and characterization of resistant bacterial clones and adapted phage isolates.
- Phage genome sequencing to identify mutations responsible for regained infectivity.
- Measurement of phage adsorption rates to assess infectivity trade-offs.
Main Results:
- Rapid emergence of phage resistance in *F. columnare* isolates (16/18) within one day.
- Identified surface modification and CRISPR-Cas as bacterial resistance mechanisms.
- An adapted phage isolate regained infectivity against 18/32 resistant clones.
- Mutations in putative tail genes of the evolved phage were identified.
- The adapted phage exhibited significantly lower adsorption rates than the ancestral phage.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial resistance to phage therapy evolves rapidly through various mechanisms.
- Experimental phage adaptation can restore efficacy against resistant bacterial strains.
- Phage adaptation involves trade-offs, such as reduced adsorption, impacting overall effectiveness.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages
77.0K
Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are specialized viruses that infect bacteria. A key characteristic of phages is their distinctive “head-tail” morphology. A phage begins the infection process (i.e., lytic cycle) by attaching to the outside of a bacterial cell. Attachment is accomplished via proteins in the phage tail that bind to specific receptor proteins on the outer surface of the bacterium. The tail injects the phage’s DNA genome into the bacterial cytoplasm. In the...
77.0K
01:26DNA Bacteriophages
597
Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria, utilizing their genetic material to hijack host cellular machinery for replication. DNA bacteriophages employ single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes. These phages exhibit diverse replication strategies and host interactions, influencing their ecological roles and applications in biotechnology and medicine.ssDNA BacteriophagesssDNA phages, with their small genomes, utilize unique strategies to...
597
02:53CRISPR and crRNAs
18.5K
Bacteria and archaea are susceptible to viral infections just like eukaryotes; therefore, they have developed a unique adaptive immune system to protect themselves. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated proteins (CRISPR-Cas) are present in more than 45% of known bacteria and 90% of known archaea.
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
18.5K
01:16Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle
1.1K
The lysogenic cycle is a crucial viral replication strategy that allows bacteriophages to persist within host cells without immediately destroying them. This process is primarily observed in temperate phages, such as bacteriophage lambda (λ), which infects Escherichia coli. The cycle allows the viral genome to persist across bacterial generations while keeping host cells viable.Integration of the Viral GenomeUpon infection, bacteriophage lambda attaches to the bacterial surface and injects...
1.1K
00:43Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages
67.1K
In contrast to the lytic cycle, phages infecting bacteria via the lysogenic cycle do not immediately kill their host cell. Instead, they combine their genome with the host genome, allowing the bacteria to replicate the phage DNA along with the bacterial genome. The incorporated copy of the phage genome is called the prophage. Some prophages can re-activate and enter the lytic cycle. This often occurs in response to a perturbation, such as DNA damage, but can also transpire in the absence of...
67.1K
00:57Antibiotic Selection
59.2K
Overview
59.2K