BIOTECHNOLOGY 55
a report in the Lancet on alternatives to antibiotics, which concludes that the alternatives will not be able to take over from conventional antibiotics and will probably be used alongside rather than replace them. Te report also assumes the most promising alternatives, including probiotics and phages, will not be licensed for use and dispensed any time soon.
Rather than abandon such a
promising treatment scientists have been devising imaginative methods to adapt and use phages or their derivatives in ways that are acceptable and within current regulations.
Spray away One way would be to use a phage spray on various foods including livestock carcasses as an intervention, so deal with the problem at source. One such
product designed specifically for the elimination of E. coli on meat is called Ecoshield from Intralytix. Dr Alexander Sulakvelidze, the company’s vice-president, R&D and chief scientist claims its products can be adapted to deal with mutant bacteria: “Phage preparations can be updated to adapt quickly to address new antibiotic-resistant strains,” he confirms. “Te mode of action of phages differs from those of antibiotics, and the mechanisms of resistance against phages are different from those for resistance to antibiotics. Tus, phages can kill many bacterial strains that cannot be killed by antibiotics (i.e. antibiotic-resistant strains). Te same concept applies to E. coli. Whether or not the approach is successful in real life depends on many factors of course, but it certainly can be very effective
Professor Martha Clokie, University of Leicester
Professor Paul Barrow, University of Nottingham
www.scientistlive.com
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