Episode 545 - Phages taking the fight to bacteria

Antibiotic resistance is a global challenge, but the solution may come from the natural predator of bacteria. Bacterial infections can be nasty, but you can engineer a phage to help better identify and treat them. Knowing exactly which bacteria is causing problems can help doctors target treatment more precisely and tailor antibiotic courses. Using bacteriophages  you can quickly identify and then eliminate common types of bacterial infections.

1. Jiemin Du, Susanne Meile, Jasmin Baggenstos, Tobias Jäggi, Pietro Piffaretti, Laura Hunold, Cassandra I. Matter, Lorenz Leitner, Thomas M. Kessler, Martin J. Loessner, Samuel Kilcher, Matthew Dunne. Enhancing bacteriophage therapeutics through in situ production and release of heterologous antimicrobial effectors. Nature Communications, 2023; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39612-0
2. Susanne Meile, Jiemin Du, Samuel Staubli, Sebastian Grossmann, Hendrik Koliwer-Brandl, Pietro Piffaretti, Lorenz Leitner, Cassandra I. Matter, Jasmin Baggenstos, Laura Hunold, Sonja Milek, Christian Guebeli, Marko Kozomara-Hocke, Vera Neumeier, Angela Botteon, Jochen Klumpp, Jonas Marschall, Shawna McCallin, Reinhard Zbinden, Thomas M. Kessler, Martin J. Loessner, Matthew Dunne, Samuel Kilcher. Engineered reporter phages for detection of Escherichia coli, Enterococcus, and Klebsiella in urine. Nature Communications, 2023; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39863-x