November 22, 2024

Unpacking φX174: A Game-Changer in Antibiotic Resistance Research

Phage treatment continued to cure bacterial illness, but it killed as well, most likely since scientists did not yet know how to cleanse the byproducts of phage duplication such as bacterial particles, which can be toxic.Evolution of Phage Therapy and ResearchPhage research and therapy became fragmented under the pressure of World War II. Penicillin was a military trick not shared with the Eastern allies or the Axis powers, so Soviet medical professionals continued the therapeutic use of phages, a practice that persists today in the nations of the former Soviet Union.Although phages fell out of favor with medical researchers in Western nations in the decades after World War II, research researchers became interested with them. These enzymes are too large to be consisted of in the DNA of a tiny phage like φX174.Modern Research on φX174″The φX174 genome is really small,” Clemons discusses. Bacteria also mutate to resist phages, however unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics that require extensive human effort to enhance their structure, phages themselves can alter, countering new bacterial defenses. It is the hope of Clemons and other scientists in the field that marshaling the right phages at the ideal time to attend to bacterial infections might produce a new, more long lasting antibiotic, one we increasingly need as we challenge antibiotic resistant bacteria.Reference: “The system of the phage-encoded protein antibiotic from ΦX174” by Anna K. Orta, Nadia Riera, Yancheng E. Li, Shiho Tanaka, Hyun Gi Yun, Lada Klaic and William M. ClemonsJr., 14 July 2023, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.adg9091Co-authors of “The system of the phage encoded protein antibiotic from φX174” include Anna K. Orta, Nadia Riera, Evelyn Yancheng Li, Shiho Tanaka, Hyun Gi Yun, and Lada Klaic.

Phage therapy continued to treat bacterial diseases, however it eliminated as well, most likely due to the fact that researchers did not yet understand how to cleanse the byproducts of phage duplication such as bacterial particles, which can be toxic.Evolution of Phage Therapy and ResearchPhage research study and treatment ended up being fragmented under the pressure of World War II. Penicillin was a military secret not shared with the Eastern allies or the Axis powers, so Soviet physicians continued the therapeutic usage of phages, a practice that continues today in the nations of the former Soviet Union.Although phages fell out of favor with medical researchers in Western nations in the decades after World War II, research study scientists became amazed with them. It is the hope of Clemons and other researchers in the field that marshaling the ideal phages at the best time to attend to bacterial infections could produce a new, more resilient antibiotic, one we progressively need as we confront antibiotic resistant bacteria.Reference: “The system of the phage-encoded protein antibiotic from ΦX174” by Anna K. Orta, Nadia Riera, Yancheng E. Li, Shiho Tanaka, Hyun Gi Yun, Lada Klaic and William M. ClemonsJr., 14 July 2023, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.adg9091Co-authors of “The mechanism of the phage encoded protein antibiotic from φX174” include Anna K. Orta, Nadia Riera, Evelyn Yancheng Li, Shiho Tanaka, Hyun Gi Yun, and Lada Klaic.