54 BIOTECHNOLOGY
of Leicester is confident that phages will exist for this strain: “E. coli is a good target for phage therapy, there is quite a lot of basic and applied science that needs to be done first though.” Dr David Harper of
Evolution Bacteriophages, reveals he is also pretty confident, given the ready availability of phages against E. coli, that such an approach would be viable. Paul Barrow at the University of Nottingham, whose team has been looking at E coli phages to counteract antibiotic resistance, says identifying a phage to address the new strain is not only possible but, “quite easy to do.” But here’s the rub:
pharmaceutical companies have been reluctant to invest in phage research, because without a patentable end product, development is not commercially viable. Furthermore, the manner by which phages attack their host, by breaking the walls of the bacteria and injecting them with their own DNA has complicated matters and although phages have been used safely in Georgia, Russia and Poland for years, Western medical authorities are less enthusiastic. Medical trials are ongoing, but it is a very slow process. Tere may be hope in that if the bacteria could be destroyed at source, in the infected meat, there would not be a need to treat patients suffering from E. coli as a consequence of eating that product. Paul Barrow confirms
the eradication of resistant bacteria in meat products is “possible, certainly”. Clokie explains there are many potential uses for both phages and phage products (products derived from phages that have the same effect): “Te current regulatory framework is different for food products to anything medical, and thus this may dictate which products
There may be hope in that if the bacteria could be destroyed at source, in the infected meat, there would not be a need to treat patients suffering from E. coli as a consequence of eating that product
are developed first. Tere are some phage products for food and agriculture currently in use, and the medical regulatory authorities are being helpful in their capacity. I think there is a lot of scope for reducing contamination at source. Also, different bacteria have different biologies and so there is likely to not be one universal answer.” Harper also confirms that both could be done using different phage sets: “Te availability of multiple agents is one of the big strengths of phage.” On 13 January 2016 the
Wellcome Institute published
www.scientistlive.com
Above: The team at the University of Nottingham has been looking at E coli phages to counteract antibiotic resistance
Left: Barrow’s team are proposing to alter the genomes of phages
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