Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 27, 2025
08:46
Author Spotlight: Investigating Bacteriophage-Induced Immune Responses in Gnotobiotic Mice
Published on: January 26, 2024
2.2K
Eco-Evolutionary Effects of Bacterial Cooperation on Phage Therapy: An Unknown Risk?
Adrián Cazares1,2, Rodolfo García-Contreras3, Judith Pérez-Velázquez4,5
1EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Frontiers in Microbiology
|December 7, 2020
Summary
Phage therapy (PT) efficacy relies on understanding bacteria-phage interactions, particularly how bacterial quorum sensing (QS) affects phage susceptibility. Tailoring PT strategies requires exploring this complex relationship across diverse bacterial models.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- The antibiotic era demonstrated the health risks of using therapeutics without understanding their evolutionary impact.
- Bacteriophages (phages) are adaptable biological agents with potential for phage therapy (PT), but their efficacy is threatened by evolving bacterial resistance.
- Understanding bacteria-phage interactions is crucial for developing safe and effective PT strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review emerging evidence on bacteria-phage interactions, focusing on quorum sensing (QS) and its influence on phage susceptibility.
- To discuss the role of phages in modulating bacterial cooperation and its implications for PT.
- To inform the design of optimal PT strategies by considering phage ecology and evolution.
Main Methods:
- Literature review summarizing current research on bacteria-phage interactions and QS.
- Analysis of how QS influences phage susceptibility and bacterial cooperation.
- Discussion of experimental approaches including competition experiments, experimental evolution, and mathematical modeling.
Main Results:
- Quorum sensing (QS) widely influences bacterial susceptibility to phages, but outcomes vary significantly depending on the bacterial host.
- Phages can modulate bacterial cooperative behaviors, with implications for infection dynamics.
- Characterizing the QS-phage interaction is essential for predicting PT success.
Conclusions:
- Safe and effective phage therapy (PT) requires a deep understanding of bacteria-phage interactions, especially the influence of quorum sensing (QS).
- Further research using diverse bacterial models and advanced experimental techniques is needed to fully elucidate these interactions.
- Integrating knowledge of phage ecology and evolution is critical for designing successful long-term PT strategies.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages
75.3K
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...
75.3K
01:16Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle
897
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...
897
00:43Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages
66.0K
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...
66.0K
01:26DNA Bacteriophages
475
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...
475
01:20Viral Replication: Lytic Cycle
826
Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Among them, T-even bacteriophages, such as T4, exhibit a well-characterized lytic replication cycle in Escherichia coli (E. coli). This process ensures the rapid proliferation of the virus while ultimately leading to the destruction of the bacterial host.Attachment and DNA InjectionThe infection process begins with the recognition and binding of the T4 phage to the E. coli cell surface. Tail fibers of the phage...
826
01:16Transduction
743
Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome...
743