Editorial of Viruses Special Issue on Phage–Host Interactions 2021

Viruses has now published two Special Issues on phage–host interactions, the latest under the name Phage–Host Interactions 2021 [...

Can Bacteriophages Replace Antibiotics?

Increasing antibiotic resistance numbers force both scientists and politicians to tackle the problem, and preferably without any delay. The application of bacteriophages as precision therapy to treat bacterial infections, phage therapy, has received increasing attention during the last two decades. While it looks like phage therapy is here to stay, there is still a lot to do. Medicine regulatory authorities are working to deliver clear instructions to carry out phage therapy. Physicians need to get more practical experience on treatments with phages. In this opinion article I try to place phage therapy in the context of the health care system and state that the use phages for precision treatments will require a seamless chain of events from the patient to the phage therapy laboratory to allow for the immediate application of phages therapeutically. It is not likely that phages will replace antibiotics, however, they will be valuable in the treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria. Antibiotics will nevertheless remain the main treatment for a majority of infections.Peer reviewe

Editorial of Viruses Special Issue on Phage-Host Interactions 2021

Non peer reviewe

Can Bacteriophages Replace Antibiotics?

Increasing antibiotic resistance numbers force both scientists and politicians to tackle the problem, and preferably without any delay. The application of bacteriophages as precision therapy to treat bacterial infections, phage therapy, has received increasing attention during the last two decades. While it looks like phage therapy is here to stay, there is still a lot to do. Medicine regulatory authorities are working to deliver clear instructions to carry out phage therapy. Physicians need to get more practical experience on treatments with phages. In this opinion article I try to place phage therapy in the context of the health care system and state that the use phages for precision treatments will require a seamless chain of events from the patient to the phage therapy laboratory to allow for the immediate application of phages therapeutically. It is not likely that phages will replace antibiotics, however, they will be valuable in the treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria. Antibiotics will nevertheless remain the main treatment for a majority of infections.Peer reviewe

Editorial of Viruses Special Issue on Phage–Host Interactions 2021

Viruses has now published two Special Issues on phage–host interactions, the latest under the name Phage–Host Interactions 2021 [...

Genomic Characterization of Sixteen Yersinia enterocolitica-Infecting Podoviruses of Pig Origin

Yersinia enterocolitica causes enteric infections in humans and animals. Human infections are often caused by contaminated pork meat. Y. enterocolitica colonizes pig tonsils and pigs secrete both the human pathogen and its specific bacteriophages into the stools. In this work, sixteen Y. enterocolitica-infecting lytic bacteriophages isolated from pig stools originating from several pig farms were characterized. All phages belong to the Podoviridae family and their genomes range between 38,391-40,451 bp in size. The overall genome organization of all the phages resembled that of T7-like phages, having 3-6 host RNA polymerase (RNAP)-specific promoters at the beginning of the genomes and 11-13 phage RNAP-specific promoters as well as 3-5 rho-independent terminators, scattered throughout the genomes. Using a ligation-based approach, the physical termini of the genomes containing direct terminal repeats of 190-224 bp were established. No genes associated with lysogeny nor any toxin, virulence factor or antibiotic resistance genes were present in the genomes. Even though the phages had been isolated from different pig farms the nucleotide sequences of their genomes were 90-97% identical suggesting that the phages were undergoing microevolution within and between the farms. Lipopolysaccharide was found to be the surface receptor of all but one of the phages. The phages are classified as new species within the T7virus genus of Autographivirinae subfamily.Peer reviewe

”Ne eivät halua päästää sinua etenemään täällä”

Helsingin yliopistolla syrjittiin 1930-luvulla juutalaisia, mikä teki akateemiselle uralle pääsemisestä heille käytännössä mahdotonta. Lääkäriksi opiskelleen isämme Leo Skurnikin tapaus ei ollut yksittäinen sattumus

Fagterapi

English summar

Complete Genome Sequences of Two Escherichia Phages Isolated from Wastewater in Finland

Escherichia phages vB_EcoM-fFiEco06 and vB_EcoM-fHoEco02 were found to have 167,076-bp and 167,064-bp genomes, respectively. They are members of genus T4virus, and they are 99.96% identical to each other. The host ranges of the phages are different, probably due to a few differences in their tail protein amino acid sequences.Peer reviewe