22/08/2025
๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐
๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐ฆ โฃ
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Meet phages ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐, and ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ โ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ช phages that give us new insight into how viruses adapt to outsmart bacterial defenses.โฃ
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๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒโฃ
โจ Isolated from both clinical strains ๐. ๐ฃ๐ข๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ช (ATCC 17978, HUMC1, AB5075) and a capsule-deficient mutant (AB5075 wzc)โฃ
โจ Tested against efflux pump mutants to see how they recognize and attach to tricky bacterial variantsโฃ
โจ TEM imaging showed something fascinating:โฃ
โข Phages from clinical strains โ Siphoviridae, with long, flexible tailsโฃ
โข Phages from capsule-deficient mutants โ Myoviridae, with powerful contractile tailsโฃ
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These results suggest that Siphoviridae may prefer natural clinical strains, while Myoviridae might adapt to infect capsule-deficient mutantsโoffering exciting clues into how phages evolve around bacterial resistance strategies.โฃ
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๐ธ Huge thanks to ๐๐ซ๐จ๐. ๐๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ (๐
๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐) for sharing these stunning phage images and helping us explore their diversity and adaptability!โฃ
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๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ:โฃ
Do you think tailoring phages to target specific bacterial resistance mechanismsโlike efflux pumps or capsule mutationsโcould be the next big leap in precision phage therapy? ๐ค๐ Share your thoughts in the commentsโweโd love to hear from you!โฃ
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โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโฃ
๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐๐โ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐?โฃ
We love highlighting the incredible work of our community!โฃ
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๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ your high-resolution phage images to [email protected]โฃ
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๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐:โฃ
โ Phage nameโฃ
โ Host organismโฃ
โ Source of isolationโฃ
โ Image credit (name + institution)โฃ
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โจ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฌ: Share an interesting detail or fun story behind your phageโweโd love to feature it!โฃ
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Letโs celebrate phage science togetherโone image (and story) at a time. ๐ก๐ฆ โฃ
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