Bacteria-Killing Virus Could Combat Superbugs

The mention of ‘bacteria’ often conjures up thoughts of illness and infections, as many diseases, some even deadly, are caused by bacterial infections. However, there exists a natural predator to bacteria known as bacteriophages.

Bacteriophages are unique in that they not only kill bacteria but also use bacterial mechanisms to replicate themselves. Recently, scientists have discovered that bacteriophages could be instrumental in combating drug-resistant bacteria, also known as ‘superbugs’.

When bacteria encounter nutrient-poor environments, they enter a dormant state, remaining alive but inactive. In this state, they develop defense mechanisms to protect themselves against bacteriophages and antibiotics, making them challenging to eliminate.

Previous efforts to destroy dormant bacteria using bacteriophages were largely unsuccessful, but researchers from the University of Basel and ETH Zurich in Switzerland have now achieved a breakthrough.

Microbiologist Alexander Harms from the University of Basel expressed his belief in the evolutionary development of bacteriophages capable of infiltrating dormant bacteria. Harms and his research team discovered a new type of bacteriophage, named Paride, in an unlikely place: decaying plant material in a Swiss cemetery.

Despite its somewhat eerie origin, Paride has shown effectiveness against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium responsible for severe pneumonia. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that when combined with the antibiotic meropenem, Paride could eliminate 99% of P. aeruginosa. This combination also proved effective in mouse trials.

The findings of this research have been published in the journal Nature Communications.