Artistic representation of the phage assembly line used as cover page for the latest edition of ’Cell Reports’. (Illustration: Jonas Fernbach)
ETH researchers are using synthetic biology to reprogram bacterial viruses - commonly known as bacteriophages - to expand their natural host range. This technology paves the way for the therapeutic use of standardized, synthetic bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections. Bacteriophages ("phages" for short) are viruses that infect bacteria. Phages are highly host-specific and will typically only infect and kill an individual species or even subspecies of bacteria. Compared to conventional antibiotics, phages do not indiscriminately kill bacteria. Therefore when used as a therapeutic, phages do not cause collateral damage to beneficial "good" bacteria living in the gut. This ability to target only disease-causing bacteria has led to phages being seen as potential "magic bullets" in the fight against bacterial infections, especially against bacteria that have developed antibiotic resistance.
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