Treatment of <i>E. coli</i> Infections with T4-Related Bacteriophages Belonging to Class <i>Caudoviricetes</i>: Selecting Phage on the Basis of Their Generalized Transduction Capability
The problem of the multidrug resistance of pathogenic bacteria is a serious concern, one which only becomes more pressing with every year that passes, motivating scientists to look for new therapeutic agents. In this situation, phage therapy, i.e., the use of phages to combat bacterial infections, i...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Viruses |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/5/701 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849719423660720128 |
|---|---|
| author | Alexandra N. Nikulina Nikita A. Nikulin Natalia E. Suzina Andrei A. Zimin |
| author_facet | Alexandra N. Nikulina Nikita A. Nikulin Natalia E. Suzina Andrei A. Zimin |
| author_sort | Alexandra N. Nikulina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The problem of the multidrug resistance of pathogenic bacteria is a serious concern, one which only becomes more pressing with every year that passes, motivating scientists to look for new therapeutic agents. In this situation, phage therapy, i.e., the use of phages to combat bacterial infections, is back in the spotlight of research interest. Bacterial viruses are highly strain-specific towards their hosts, which makes them particularly valuable for targeting pathogenic variants amidst non-pathogenic microflora, represented by such commensals of animals and humans as <i>E. coli</i>, <i>S. aureus</i>, etc. However, selecting phages for the treatment of bacterial infections is a complex task. The prospective candidates should meet a number of criteria; in particular, the selected phage must not contain potentially dangerous genes (e.g., antibiotic resistance genes, genes of toxins and virulence factors etc.)—or be capable of transferring them from their hosts. This work introduces a new approach to selecting T4-related coliphages; it allows one to identify strains which may be safer in terms of involvement in the horizontal gene transfer. The approach is based on the search for genes that reduce the frequency of genetic transduction. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-64a087cd5a4e4525b0d00a89eb18cde0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj-art-64a087cd5a4e4525b0d00a89eb18cde02025-08-20T03:12:09ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152025-05-0117570110.3390/v17050701Treatment of <i>E. coli</i> Infections with T4-Related Bacteriophages Belonging to Class <i>Caudoviricetes</i>: Selecting Phage on the Basis of Their Generalized Transduction CapabilityAlexandra N. Nikulina0Nikita A. Nikulin1Natalia E. Suzina2Andrei A. Zimin3Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Federal Research Center “Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, 142290 Pushchino, RussiaLaboratory of Molecular Microbiology, G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Federal Research Center “Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, 142290 Pushchino, RussiaLaboratory of Cytology of Microorganisms, G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Federal Research Center “Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, 142290 Pushchino, RussiaLaboratory of Molecular Microbiology, G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Federal Research Center “Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, 142290 Pushchino, RussiaThe problem of the multidrug resistance of pathogenic bacteria is a serious concern, one which only becomes more pressing with every year that passes, motivating scientists to look for new therapeutic agents. In this situation, phage therapy, i.e., the use of phages to combat bacterial infections, is back in the spotlight of research interest. Bacterial viruses are highly strain-specific towards their hosts, which makes them particularly valuable for targeting pathogenic variants amidst non-pathogenic microflora, represented by such commensals of animals and humans as <i>E. coli</i>, <i>S. aureus</i>, etc. However, selecting phages for the treatment of bacterial infections is a complex task. The prospective candidates should meet a number of criteria; in particular, the selected phage must not contain potentially dangerous genes (e.g., antibiotic resistance genes, genes of toxins and virulence factors etc.)—or be capable of transferring them from their hosts. This work introduces a new approach to selecting T4-related coliphages; it allows one to identify strains which may be safer in terms of involvement in the horizontal gene transfer. The approach is based on the search for genes that reduce the frequency of genetic transduction.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/5/701phage therapygeneralized transductionhorizontal gene transferT4-related phages |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra N. Nikulina Nikita A. Nikulin Natalia E. Suzina Andrei A. Zimin Treatment of <i>E. coli</i> Infections with T4-Related Bacteriophages Belonging to Class <i>Caudoviricetes</i>: Selecting Phage on the Basis of Their Generalized Transduction Capability Viruses phage therapy generalized transduction horizontal gene transfer T4-related phages |
| title | Treatment of <i>E. coli</i> Infections with T4-Related Bacteriophages Belonging to Class <i>Caudoviricetes</i>: Selecting Phage on the Basis of Their Generalized Transduction Capability |
| title_full | Treatment of <i>E. coli</i> Infections with T4-Related Bacteriophages Belonging to Class <i>Caudoviricetes</i>: Selecting Phage on the Basis of Their Generalized Transduction Capability |
| title_fullStr | Treatment of <i>E. coli</i> Infections with T4-Related Bacteriophages Belonging to Class <i>Caudoviricetes</i>: Selecting Phage on the Basis of Their Generalized Transduction Capability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Treatment of <i>E. coli</i> Infections with T4-Related Bacteriophages Belonging to Class <i>Caudoviricetes</i>: Selecting Phage on the Basis of Their Generalized Transduction Capability |
| title_short | Treatment of <i>E. coli</i> Infections with T4-Related Bacteriophages Belonging to Class <i>Caudoviricetes</i>: Selecting Phage on the Basis of Their Generalized Transduction Capability |
| title_sort | treatment of i e coli i infections with t4 related bacteriophages belonging to class i caudoviricetes i selecting phage on the basis of their generalized transduction capability |
| topic | phage therapy generalized transduction horizontal gene transfer T4-related phages |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/5/701 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alexandrannikulina treatmentofiecoliiinfectionswitht4relatedbacteriophagesbelongingtoclassicaudoviricetesiselectingphageonthebasisoftheirgeneralizedtransductioncapability AT nikitaanikulin treatmentofiecoliiinfectionswitht4relatedbacteriophagesbelongingtoclassicaudoviricetesiselectingphageonthebasisoftheirgeneralizedtransductioncapability AT nataliaesuzina treatmentofiecoliiinfectionswitht4relatedbacteriophagesbelongingtoclassicaudoviricetesiselectingphageonthebasisoftheirgeneralizedtransductioncapability AT andreiazimin treatmentofiecoliiinfectionswitht4relatedbacteriophagesbelongingtoclassicaudoviricetesiselectingphageonthebasisoftheirgeneralizedtransductioncapability |