Creature features: The lively narratives of bacteriophages in Soviet biology and medicine

Abstract

The term ‘bacteriophage’ (devourer of bacteria) was coined by Félix d'Hérelle in 1917 to describe both the phenomenon of spontaneous destruction of bacterial cultures and an agent responsible. Debates about the nature of bacteriophages raged in the 1920s and 1930s, and there were extensive attempts to use the phenomenon to fight infections. Whereas it eventually became a crucial tool for molecular biology, therapeutic uses of ‘phage’ declined sharply in the West after World War II, but persisted in the Soviet Union, particularly Georgia. Increasingly isolated from Western medical research, Soviet scientists developed their own metaphors of ‘phage’, its nature and action, and communicated them to their peers, medical professionals, and potential patients. In this article, I explore four kinds of narrative that shaped Soviet phage research: the mystique of bacteriophages in the 1920s and 1930s; animated accounts and military metaphors in the 1940s; Lysenkoist notions on bacteriophages as a phase in bacterial development; and the retrospective allocation of credit for the discovery of the bacteriophage during the Cold War. Whereas viruses have been largely seen as barely living, phage narratives consistently featured heroic liveliness or ‘animacy’, which framed the growing consensus on its viral nature. Post-war narratives, shaped by the Lysenkoist movement and the campaigns against adulation of the West, had political power—although many microbiologists remained sceptical, they had to frame their critique within the correct language if they wanted to be published. The dramatic story of bacteriophage research in the Soviet Union is a reminder of the extent to which scientific narratives can be shaped by politics, but it also highlights the diversity of strategies and alternative interpretations possible within those constraints.

Progress in Alternative Strategies to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance: Focus on Antibiotics

“…The use of phage therapy for bacterial infectious diseases has existed for decades, with bacteriophages being first discovered by Frederick Twort in 1915 and Félix d’Hérelle in 1917, who described a bactericidal effect after isolation from the feces of patients recovering from dysentery [ 229 , 230 ]. During this time, there was a rapid spike in the development of phage therapy, particularly in Europe, the United States, and the Soviet Union [ 231 ]. However, this was quickly followed by a decline in phage therapy use during the 1940s, when the production and use of antibiotics increased in the United States as penicillin use took hold and sulfonamide use continued (synthetic antibiotics that were initially discovered in Germany during the 1930s) [ 231 ].…”

“…During this time, there was a rapid spike in the development of phage therapy, particularly in Europe, the United States, and the Soviet Union [ 231 ]. However, this was quickly followed by a decline in phage therapy use during the 1940s, when the production and use of antibiotics increased in the United States as penicillin use took hold and sulfonamide use continued (synthetic antibiotics that were initially discovered in Germany during the 1930s) [ 231 ]. Despite this preference, phage therapy remained (and remains) in use in several countries previously allied to the Soviet Union, i.e., Poland, Georgia, and Russia itself [ 232 ].…”

Low-volume enrichment method supports high throughput bacteriophage screening and isolation from wastewater

“…After the discovery of bacteriophages in the early 1900s, there was early success in the treatment of some bacterial infections [1][2][3]. However, the advent of small molecule antibiotics superseded their use in most countries as an antibiotic therapy.…”

Fagoterapia: Una Alternativa Terapéutica Prometedora Cuando Los Antibióticos No Funcionan.

“…Durante varias décadas, la fagoterapia fue utilizada en Europa del Este y la Unión Soviética como una forma de tratamiento médico. Sin embargo, con el descubrimiento y desarrollo de los antibióticos en la década de 1940, la atención médica se desvió hacia estos nuevos agentes antimicrobianos, y la fagoterapia quedó en gran medida relegada a un segundo plano en Occidente (2,5).…”