bacteriophage
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyImpact of the Novel Prophage ϕSA169 on Persistent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Endovascular InfectionBacteriophages are viruses that invade the bacterial host, disrupt bacterial metabolism, and cause the bacterium to lyse. Because of its remarkable antibacterial activity and unique advantages over antibiotics, for instance, bacteriophage is specific for one species of bacteria and resistance to phage is less common than resistance to antibiotics. Indeed, bacteriophage therapy for treating infections due to multidrug-resistant pathogens...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInitial Mapping of the New York City Wastewater ViromeWastewater is a rich source of microbial life and contains bacteria, viruses, and other microbes found in human waste as well as environmental runoff sources. As part of an effort to characterize the New York City wastewater metagenome, we profiled the viral community of sewage samples across all five boroughs of NYC and found that local sampling sites have unique sets of viruses. We focused on bacteriophages, or viruses of bacteria, to...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceAlteromonas Myovirus V22 Represents a New Genus of Marine Bacteriophages Requiring a Tail Fiber Chaperone for Host RecognitionHost recognition by phage-encoded receptor binding proteins (RBPs) constitutes the first step in all phage infections and the most critical determinant of host specificity. By characterizing new types of RBPs and identifying their essential chaperones, we hope to expand the repertoire of known phage-host recognition machineries. Due to their genetic plasticity, studying RBPs and their associated chaperones can shed new light onto viral...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionIsolation and Characterization of the Novel Phage JD032 and Global Transcriptomic Response during JD032 Infection of Clostridioides difficile Ribotype 078C. difficile is one of the most clinically significant intestinal pathogens. Although phages have been shown to effectively control C. difficile infection, the host responses to phage predation have not been fully studied. In this study, we reported the isolation and characterization of a new phage...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionStable Neutralization of a Virulence Factor in Bacteria Using Temperate Phage in the Mammalian GutWith the increasing frequency of antibiotic resistance, it is critical to explore new therapeutic strategies for treating bacterial infections. Here, we use a temperate phage, i.e., one that integrates itself into the bacterial genome, to neutralize the expression of a virulence factor by modifying bacterial function at the genetic level. We show that Shiga toxin production can be significantly reduced in vitro and in the...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceTrends of Microdiversity Reveal Depth-Dependent Evolutionary Strategies of Viruses in the MediterraneanViruses are extremely abundant and diverse biological entities that contribute to the functioning of marine ecosystems. Despite their recognized importance, few studies have addressed trends of mutation accumulation in marine viral communities across depth gradients. By investigating these trends, we show that mutation frequencies differ among viral genes according to their molecular functions, with the highest microdiversity occurring...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceLying in Wait: Modeling the Control of Bacterial Infections via Antibiotic-Induced ProvirusesAntibiotic resistance is a growing concern for management of common bacterial infections. Here, we show that antibiotics can be effective at subinhibitory levels when bacteria carry latent phage. Our findings suggest that specific treatment strategies based on the identification of latent viruses in individual bacterial strains may be an effective personalized medicine approach to antibiotic stewardship.
Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceThe Power of Metabolism for Predicting Microbial Community DynamicsQuantitative understanding and prediction of microbial community dynamics are an outstanding challenge. We test the hypothesis that metabolic mechanisms provide a foundation for accurate prediction of dynamics in microbial systems. In our research, metabolic models have been able to accurately predict species interactions, evolutionary trajectories, and response to perturbation in simple synthetic consortia.
Special Issue Perspective | Host-Microbe BiologyMissing a Phage: Unraveling Tripartite Symbioses within the Human GutTripartite symbioses between bacteriophages, the epithelial cell layers of the human gut, and bacterial symbionts may play an important and unrecognized role in the function of the gut microbiome. Traditionally, phages residing within the gut were considered to interact only with their bacterial hosts and thereby to facilitate indirect interactions with the epithelial cell layers, and yet a growing body of literature is demonstrating...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyGlobal Transcriptomic Analysis of the Interactions between Phage φAbp1 and Extensively Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumanniiPrevious research has reported the transcriptomic phage-host interactions in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, leading to the detailed discovery of transcriptomic regulations and predictions of specific gene functions. However, a direct relationship between...