Bacteriophages & Antibiotic Resistance: New Molecule Boosts Virus Against Bacteria

Antimicrobial resistance – when bacteria and fungi defend against the drugs designed to kill them – is a pressing global public health threat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers are now exploring novel strategies to combat this growing challenge, focusing on disrupting bacterial defenses rather than directly attacking the microbes themselves.

Weakening Bacterial Defenses

The laboratory of JP Gerdt at Indiana University in Bloomington is investigating ways to weaken bacteria’s defenses against viruses. “Bacteria get sick too,” explained Professor Gerdt, an assistant professor of chemistry at the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences. “Our lab is trying to understand how their immune system works so One can figure out how to inhibit it.”

Bacteriophages – viruses that attack and kill bacteria – offer a potential alternative to antibiotics. Unlike antibiotics, which kill both harmful and beneficial bacteria, bacteriophages can be targeted to eliminate a specific problematic bacterial strain while leaving helpful microbes unharmed. They also present a more focused approach in agriculture, avoiding the broad-spectrum killing effect of many antibiotics.

However, bacteria, like many organisms, can develop immunity to viruses. This is where the work at the Gerdt laboratory becomes crucial. Zhiyu Zang, a former member of the lab and now a postdoctoral researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, discovered a chemical molecule that, when paired with a bacteriophage, helps the virus overcome a bacterium’s immune system.

A Key Discovery

This finding was detailed in the article “Chemical inhibition of a bacterial immune system,” recently published in Cell Host & Microbe by Zang and Gerdt. The research began with a relatively easy and safe bacterium to study with undergraduate students. Students, including Olivia Duncan, assisted in identifying molecules that chemically inhibited the bacterium’s immune system.

While antibiotics are likely to remain the primary defence against bacterial infections in humans, the Gerdt laboratory’s discovery could have applications in treating difficult-to-manage infections. It may also be valuable in agriculture, where overuse of antibiotics contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Looking Ahead

JP Gerdt envisions that, within 10 to 15 years, his laboratory could create a library of inhibitors for different bacteria. The team acknowledges the scale of the challenge – with millions of bacterial strains, there are potentially just as many chemical molecules that could be used to inhibit bacterial immune systems. Olivia Duncan, now a doctoral student at Cornell University, also contributed to identifying the key chemical molecule.

“Our goal is to have a collection of inhibitors that will work for different immune systems,” Gerdt stated. “We hope this paper will serve as a catalyst for other labs to work on this topic with us as a community.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What are bacteriophages?

Bacteriophages are viruses that attack and kill bacteria. They can be used as an alternative to antibiotics, potentially targeting specific bacterial strains without harming beneficial microbes.

What did the Gerdt laboratory discover?

Zhiyu Zang discovered a chemical molecule that, when combined with a bacteriophage, helps the virus overcome a bacterium’s immune system.

What is the potential impact of this research?

This research could lead to new strategies for treating bacterial infections, particularly those resistant to antibiotics, and could also have applications in agriculture.

As researchers continue to unravel the complexities of bacterial immune systems, what role do you see for these innovative approaches in the future of public health?