BIOTECHNOLOGY 57
are resistant to antibiotics. He says: “What we are proposing is that the genomes of phages may be altered to include a genetic system that is able to down regulate expression of antibiotic resistance genes or to inactivate these genes. Te idea is that when the phage attaches to the resistant bacterium and injects its DNA, rather than preparing
to multiply into many copies of the phage genome resulting in bacterial death, it reduces the antibiotic resistance of the bacterium and makes it more susceptible to antibiotic use. Tis may lengthen the ‘shelf life’ of existing antibiotics. Tere are some situations where this might be preferable to killing the bacterium.”
A report for the UK
Government published in December 2015 warned that drug-resistant bacteria could kill 10 million people a year by 2050 with an economic cost of trillions. It is, therefore, critical that the world’s armoury against superbugs is augmented as soon as possible. Time is running out.
Production facility for Intralytix’s phages
www.scientistlive.com
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