Customizing Viruses to Fight Selected Bacteria

A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has recently developed a "mix-and-match" system that allows the genomes of bacteria-eating viruses to be more easily manipulated to target specific bacteria. This team has designed a system of taking genes from bacteriophages and swapping them in and out to produce functional phages that have new properties and can be used to target specific bacteria. The idea of using viruses to kill disease-causing bacteria is relatively old, but this new system is much less expensive and not as time consuming. 

For their study, the team at MIT used bacteriophages from the family known as T7, which naturally attack E. coli. The bacteriophages, as well as many other bacteriophages, are made of a head region with a tail that they use to attach to their target bacteria cell. By swapping genes in the tails of the bacteriophages, which dictates the target of the bacteriophage,  they were able to create several phages that would target many different types of bacteria. They were then able to find the gene sequences that code for the tail of the T7 family, and from these sequences, develop a new way to genetically engineer the T7 genome. This new process involved inserting the viral genome into a yeast cell, which made the genome more accessible for gene-swapping. This overall process in much faster, easier, and less expensive than alternatives and is revolutionary in the research of this topic. 

The team now hopes these studies and developments can be used in a variety of different ways. The new system could be used to more easily "edit" mixed populations of bacteria, such as the bacteria found in the digestive tract, and be effective in eliminating harmful bacteria in areas where both harmful and helpful bacteria exists. It could also be helpful in other applications, such as spraying crops and disinfecting foods. 

This article is very interesting because it shows an important application of genetics. It shows how knowledge of genomes and the properties of certain genes can be used in a variety of ways, including developing viruses that kill certain types of bacteria. It is amazing to think these bacteriophages can be so easily manipulated for our use, simply because we have an understanding of their genome and how they detect the cells they want to attack. 

For more interesting articles on how viruses can be used for fighting bacteria click here

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