Loading…
Bacteriophages are key components of gut microbiota .
Stop codon reassignments and mutations in the tail fiber genes of bacteriophages may play a significant role in facilitating stable viral colonization in the gut environment. These genetic adaptations could be crucial for the phages to establish and maintain a presence within the complex ecosystem of the gut microbiome.
Phages are highly abundant in the human gut, yet most remain uncultured
Here, we present a gut phage isolate collection (GPIC) containing 209 phages for 42 commensal human gut bacterial species
Genome analysis of the phages identified 34 undescribed genera
Infection assays showed that Bacteroides and Parabacteroides phages are specific to a bacterial species, and strains of the same species exhibit substantial variations in phage susceptibility
A cocktail of 8 phages with a broad host range for Bacteroides fragilis strains effectively reduced their abundance in complex host-derived communities in vitro
Proof-of-concept assessment of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains-targeting phages in an artificial human gut and in healthy volunteers demonstrate gastric acid-dependent phage resilience, safety, and viability in the lower gut.
We demonstrate the feasibility of orally administered combination phage therapy in avoiding resistance while effectively inhibiting non-communicable disease (Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD))-contributing pathobionts.
The infant gut microbiota follows a defined successional pattern where both bacterial and phage communities evolve over time.
The initial phage colonizers in the infant gut seem primarily derived from induced prophages of pioneering gut bacteria, obtained from environmental sources such as the birth canal, maternal gut microbiome, or from breastfeeding.
Approximately 9% of early phage colonizers, mostly maternally transmitted and infecting Bacteroides, persisted for three years
These persistent phages were more likely to be found in infants with a higher diversity of gut microbiota.
In the adult human gut, it is estimated that phages and bacteria exist in an about 1:1 ratio, although the actual number can be potentially higher (i.e., in the mucus layer).
Phages are viruses that prey on bacteria for reproduction, which typically results in the lysing of the bacterial host cell.