Written by Brian L. (KIS'26)
━━ Nov 20, 2023━━
Impending Threat
There is a looming threat that risks humankind from inevitable extinction. We took antibiotics for granted, and bacteria have been evolving since then. Our defenses are failing against the evolved superbugs, and are starting to kill more and more people. By 2050, superbugs are going to kill more people than cancer. It happens that the only way to destroy these mutated beasts is by relying on the #1 killer in the world: Bacteriophages.
How Phages Live & Kill
Bacteriophages are very simple creatures, but feast upon bacteria to reproduce. It is composed of a head, sheath, tail, and fibers. There are various strains of phages meant to counter bacteria and close relatives of said bacteria. The long tail fibers lock onto the bacteria and then inject their tails into the bacteria. Then, they inject their DNA information into the bacteria, overriding its instructions in the bacteria. The bacteria is forced to create more copies of the phages, until the bacteria implodes, releasing more phages to infect other bacteria. The phage is very fragile, so they are dependent on latching onto bacteria to survive.
How Do Phages Solve the Problem?
Bacteriophages are often compared to antibiotics in terms of effectiveness. There are certain advantages to phages that outclass antibiotics. First of all, we can consider antibiotics as carpet bombing, destroying both enemy and friendly bacteria. This means that there is a great decrease in the bacteria that helps our organs function. However, phages act like homing missiles. They specifically target the harmful bacteria and leave the friendly bacteria alone. Additionally, they can also synergize with each other to destroy most types of bacteria. While some bacteria are phage-resistant, they are also vulnerable to antibiotics, meaning that they cannot be immune to both. Humans can use both phages and antibiotics to eliminate nearly all known bacteria. Phages also have other possible benefits, such as pesticides, wastewater management, and hygiene all around the world.
Backlash/Limitations
Bacteriophages seem to be the end-all-be-all solution to bacteria, but there are several caveats that must be addressed before utilizing them properly. First of all, phages may cause an imbalance or overreaction from the immune system. The phages may have an issue entering the body, as the immune system can target the phages as a threat and try to eliminate the problem entirely. Secondly, we simply do not know enough about phages. We don’t know the dosages of phages we should inject a patient with, we don’t know how long we should keep a patient in phage therapy, we don’t know enough about phages to use them without severe risk.
Future Vision of Bacteriophages
Bacteriophages have a lot of potential, and scientists are studying it extensively to fully understand and take advantage of these tools. Apart from phage therapy, there are several possible uses for phages. First of all, phages can serve as a safer substitute for pesticides in fruits and vegetables. With proper understanding, scientists should be able to use phages to eliminate bacteria in produce. Secondly, genetically modified phages can help eliminate even more bacteria and enhance the use of phages for other uses as well. The only possible way to unlock these benefits is the continued research that is being done by scientists all over the world.
Future Vision of Bacteriophages
Humans have been searching for a product or discovery that can serve as the next “fire” or the next “lightbulb”. However, with the increased dangers that are all around us, with evolved bacteria that threaten to end us all, it seems to be that the next revolution we may have is bacteriophages, the possible solution to viruses, past, current, and future.
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Credits:
Kasman, L., & Porter, L. (2022). Bacteriophages. Statpearls Publishing. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493185/
Bacteriophage DNA in blood provides species-level insight into bacterial infections. (2023).
Nature Microbiology, 8(8), 1386-1387. doi: 10.1038/s41564-023-01422-x
Ceyssens, P., Glonti, T., Kropinski, n., Lavigne, R., Chanishvili, N., & Kulakov, L. et al. (2011).
Phenotypic and genotypic variations within a single bacteriophage species. Virology
Journal, 8(1). doi: 10.1186/1743-422x-8-134
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