The Age of Phage: Friend or Foe in the New Dawn of Therapeutic and Biocontrol Applications?

Abstract

Extended overuse and misuse of antibiotics and other antibacterial agents has resulted in an antimicrobial resistance crisis. Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, have emerged as a legitimate alternative antibacterial agent with a wide scope of applications which continue to be discovered and refined. However, the potential of some bacteriophages to aid in the acquisition, maintenance, and dissemination of negatively associated bacterial genes, including resistance and virulence genes, through transduction is of concern and requires deeper understanding in order to be properly addressed. In particular, their ability to interact with mobile genetic elements such as plasmids, genomic islands, and integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) enables bacteriophages to contribute greatly to bacterial evolution. Nonetheless, bacteriophages have the potential to be used as therapeutic and biocontrol agents within medical, agricultural, and food processing settings, against bacteria in both planktonic and biofilm environments. Additionally, bacteriophages have been deployed in developing rapid, sensitive, and specific biosensors for various bacterial targets. Intriguingly, their bioengineering capabilities show great promise in improving their adaptability and effectiveness as biocontrol and detection tools. This review aims to provide a balanced perspective on bacteriophages by outlining advantages, challenges, and future steps needed in order to boost their therapeutic and biocontrol potential, while also providing insight on their potential role in contributing to bacterial evolution and survival.

The dual nature of bacteriophage: growth-dependent predation and generalised transduction of antimicrobial resistance

“…The possibility of generalised transduction remains, yet is currently widely dismissed as too rare to be significant, despite being a common mechanism for the transfer of plasmids, major vectors of AMR genes 4 . Previous reviews have highlighted the necessity to further investigate the potential impact of transduction in the context of phage therapy [11][12][13] .…”

“…Since we are interested in an equilibrium with the condition that there are still bacteria and phage in the environment (i.e. B≠0 and P≠0), we can divide equations ( 8) and ( 9) by B and P respectively to obtain equations ( 10) and (11). These must hold true for there to be a non-zero bacteria and phage population at equilibrium.…”

“…The possibility of generalised transduction remains, yet is currently often dismissed as too rare to be significant, despite being a common mechanism for the transfer of plasmids, major vectors of AMR genes 4 . Alternatively, guidelines may state that the risk of generalised transduction should be minimised 9,11,12 , yet there are currently no estimates or work quantifying what constitutes an "acceptable" risk. Previous reviews have highlighted the necessity to further investigate the potential impact of transduction in the context of phage therapy [11][12][13] .…”

“…Alternatively, guidelines may state that the risk of generalised transduction should be minimised 9,11,12 , yet there are currently no estimates or work quantifying what constitutes an "acceptable" risk. Previous reviews have highlighted the necessity to further investigate the potential impact of transduction in the context of phage therapy [11][12][13] .…”

Compared with Cotrimoxazole Nitroxoline Seems to Be a Better Option for the Treatment and Prophylaxis of Urinary Tract Infections Caused by Multidrug-Resistant Uropathogens: An In Vitro Study

“…The increasing risk of antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide concern, not only because of the limited treatment options, but also because of the rapid spread of mobile genetic elements (MGEs), including transposons, integrons, plasmids and bacteriophages, which carry antimicrobial resistance genes [36,37]. The frequent co-residence of several resistance determinants on plasmids or integrons promotes co-selection of multiple antibiotic resistances, and thus the spread of multiple antibiotic resistance among bacteria.…”