September 2024 – PHAGElogist

Do lysogenic phages transmit AMR genes? Proved to be “NO”

27 Sep 202427 Sep 2024

A new preprint article "Prophages are Infrequently Associated With Antibiotic Resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Isolates" shows that prophages are not involved in the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes at…

Salmonella phage SP6: we modified the annotation

21 Sep 202421 Sep 2024

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/AY288927.2 Based on our latest results, the genome annotation of one of the famous podo-phage Salmonella phage SP6 has been modified. The modified genome has identified lysis genes; holin, endolysin…

Superbugs due to antibiotic resistance could kill 39 million people by 2050

Resistance to antibiotics has led to one million worldwide deaths each year since 1990, for a total of 36 million. It is expected to cause more than 39 million more fatalities…

Phage genome engineering with retrons

Read here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-024-02392-z In the new study, Fishman et al. introduce a phage genome engineering system that improves these methods. Their method can produce modifications at multiple sites in a…

ShigActive™, Phase 1 Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Title: "Safety and Tolerability of ShigActive™, a Shigella spp. Targeting Bacteriophage Preparation, in a Phase 1 Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Clinical Trial" https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/13/9/858 Bacterial diseases of the GI tract are a major global…

Phage editing technology

6 Sep 20246 Sep 2024

As antibiotic resistance becomes an increasingly serious threat to our health, the scientific and medical communities are searching for new medicines to fight infections. Researchers at Gladstone Institutes have just…

Gene synthesis from a non-coding RNA

1 Sep 20241 Sep 2024

Publication title: "Phage-triggered reverse transcription assembles a toxic repetitive gene from a noncoding RNA" DOI: 10.1126/science.adq39 Important takeaways: Reverse transcriptase function: Reverse transcriptase has been adapted for cellular defense in prokaryotes.…

Large-scale cyanophage genomic analysis

1 Sep 20241 Sep 2024

Publication title: "Cyanobacteria-cyanophage interactions between freshwater and marine ecosystems based on large-scale cyanophage genomic analysis" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724053518 Key points from the study: Cyanophage diversity: A large collection of novel cyanophages was isolated…

A CRISPR-Cas3-enhanced bacteriophage cocktail to treat urinary tract infections

Title: "Safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of LBP-EC01, a CRISPR-Cas3-enhanced bacteriophage cocktail, in uncomplicated urinary tract infections due to Escherichia coli (ELIMINATE): the randomised, open-label, first part of a two-part phase 2 trial"…