Genetically modified bacteriophages

Abstract

Phages or bacteriophages, viruses that infect and replicate inside bacteria, are the most abundant microorganisms on earth. The realization that antibiotic resistance poses a substantial risk to the world's health and global economy is revitalizing phage therapy as a potential solution. The increasing ease by which phage genomes can be modified, owing to the influx of new technologies, has led to an expansion of their natural capabilities, and a reduced dependence on phage isolation from environmental sources. This review will discuss the way synthetic biology has accelerated the construction of genetically modified phages and will describe the wide range of their applications. It will further provide insight into the societal and economic benefits that derive from the use of recombinant phages in various sectors, from health to biodetection, biocontrol and the food industry.

Engineered K1F bacteriophages kill intracellular Escherichia coli K1 in human epithelial cells

“…Bacteriophages are used to treat bacterial infections (phage therapy) and the interest in phage therapy has grown increasingly in recent years due to the emerging problem of antibiotic resistance of many bacterial pathogens 9 – 12 . Due to the recent advances of molecular and synthetic biology, bacteriophages can be easily genetically modified to obtain preferable characteristics for different applications 13 , 14 . A recently established efficient strategy applies the CRISPR/Cas System for the selection of recombinant bacteriophages 15 – 17 .…”

Phage‐Enabled Nanomedicine: From Probes to Therapeutics in Precision Medicine

“…More specifically, there are three systems: phage, hybrid, and phagemid. The variants and techniques in phage library display have already been widely reviewed . For example, a phage system using M13 phages makes use of the single copy of gene III in the phage genome by ligating the sequence for a fusion peptide to pIII.…”

Application of filamentous phages in environment: A tectonic shift in the science and practice of ecorestoration

“…Filamentous phages offer flexibility in modifying surface proteins to develop target‐specific receptors or probes and ease in combining different transducers or sensor surfaces such as nano‐ or micromechanical, electrochemical, and optical sensing platforms (Bernard & Francis, ; Sagona, Grigonyte, MacDonald, & Jaramillo, ; Templier, Roux, Roupioz, & Livache, ; Tables and ). Depending upon the sensor platform, biosensors differ in the principles of transduction of the signal and detection of the analyte.…”

“…In contrast, filamentous phage-based sensors are economical, can be used in real time without having to process the samples, and detect targets even when they are present at ultralow concentrations in the environment. Because of these benefits, such biosensors may become an important item in the toolkit of the restoration ecologist.Filamentous phages offer flexibility in modifying surface proteins to develop target-specific receptors or probes and ease in combining different transducers or sensor surfaces such as nanoor micromechanical, electrochemical, and optical sensing platforms(Bernard & Francis, 2014;Sagona, Grigonyte, MacDonald, & Jaramillo, 2016;Templier, Roux, Roupioz, & Livache, 2016;Tables 6 and 7). Depending upon the sensor platform, biosensors differ in the principles of transduction of the signal and detection of the analyte.…”