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Current Opinion in Virology Oct 2011Bacteriophages occupy a unique position in biology, representing an absolute majority of all organisms in the biosphere. Because their genomes are relatively small,... (Review)
Review
Bacteriophages occupy a unique position in biology, representing an absolute majority of all organisms in the biosphere. Because their genomes are relatively small, elucidating the genetic diversity of the phage population, deciphering their origins, and identifying the evolutionary mechanisms that shape the population would seem readily feasible. And yet the pace of phage genome characterization has slowed over the past three years, reflecting in part a need to transition from sequencing known and well-characterized bacteriophages to the isolation and comparative analysis of new isolates. The current state of bacteriophage genomics shows that the genetic diversity of the population is very high, that phages have been actively evolving for billions of years with active engagement of horizontal genetic exchange, and that their genomes are consequently pervasively mosaic in their architectures. But we have barely scratched the surface and the next years of phage genome exploration promise to be especially revealing.
Topics: Bacteriophages; Biological Evolution; Genetic Variation; Genome, Viral; Phylogeny
PubMed: 22034588
DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2011.06.009 -
Archives of Microbiology May 2010Bacteriophages can be used effectively to cure bacterial infections. They are known to be active against bacteria but inactive against eukaryotic cells. Nevertheless,... (Review)
Review
Bacteriophages can be used effectively to cure bacterial infections. They are known to be active against bacteria but inactive against eukaryotic cells. Nevertheless, novel observations suggest that phages are not neutral for higher organisms. They can affect physiological and immunological processes which may be crucial to their expected positive effects in therapies. Bacteriophages are a very differentiated group of viruses and at least some of them can influence cancer processes. Phages may also affect the immunological system. In general, they activate the immunological response, for example cytokine secretion. They can also switch the tumor microenvironment to one advantageous for anticancer treatment. On the other hand, bacteriophages are used as a platform for foreign peptides that may induce anticancer effects. As bacterial debris can interfere with bacteriophage activity, phage purification is significant for the final effect of a phage preparation. In this review, results of the influence of bacteriophages on cancer processes are presented which have implications for the perspective application of phage therapy in patients with cancer and the general understanding of the role of bacteriophages in the human organism.
Topics: Bacteriophages; Humans; Neoplasms
PubMed: 20232198
DOI: 10.1007/s00203-010-0559-7 -
Advances in Experimental Medicine and... 2016Bacteriophage play many varied roles in microbial ecology and evolution. This chapter collates a vast body of knowledge and expertise on Yersinia pestis phages,... (Review)
Review
Bacteriophage play many varied roles in microbial ecology and evolution. This chapter collates a vast body of knowledge and expertise on Yersinia pestis phages, including the history of their isolation and classical methods for their isolation and identification. The genomic diversity of Y. pestis phage and bacteriophage islands in the Y. pestis genome are also discussed because all phage research represents a branch of genetics. In addition, our knowledge of the receptors that are recognized by Y. pestis phage, advances in phage therapy for Y. pestis infections, the application of phage in the detection of Y. pestis, and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) sequences of Y. pestis from prophage DNA are all reviewed here.
Topics: Animals; Bacteriophages; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats; Genetic Variation; Genomic Islands; Humans; Prophages; Receptors, Virus; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 27722870
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-024-0890-4_13 -
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2024Bacteriophages are ubiquitous in all environments that support microbial life. This includes hot springs, which can range in temperatures between 40 and 98 °C and pH... (Review)
Review
Bacteriophages are ubiquitous in all environments that support microbial life. This includes hot springs, which can range in temperatures between 40 and 98 °C and pH levels between 1 and 9. Bacteriophages that survive in the higher temperatures of hot springs are known as thermophages. Thermophages have developed distinct adaptations allowing for thermostability in these extreme environments, including increased G + C DNA percentages, reliance upon the pentose phosphate metabolic pathway to avoid oxidative stress, and a codon preference for those with a GNA sequence leading to increased hydrophobic interactions and disulfide bonds. In this review, we discuss the diversity of characterized thermophages in hot spring environments that span five viral families: Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, Tectiviridae, Sphaerolipoviridae, and Inoviridae. Potential industrial and medicinal applications of thermophages will also be addressed.
Topics: Humans; Bacteriophages; Hot Springs; Myoviridae; Siphoviridae; Extreme Environments
PubMed: 37966592
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3549-0_4 -
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Mar 2016Bacteriophage-based bioassays are a promising alternative to traditional antibody-based immunoassays. Bacteriophages, shortened to phages, can be easily conjugated or... (Review)
Review
Bacteriophage-based bioassays are a promising alternative to traditional antibody-based immunoassays. Bacteriophages, shortened to phages, can be easily conjugated or genetically engineered. Phages are robust, ubiquitous in nature, and harmless to humans. Notably, phages do not usually require inoculation and killing of animals; and thus, the production of phages is simple and economical. In recent years, phage-based biosensors have been developed featuring excellent robustness, sensitivity, and selectivity in combination with the ease of integration into transduction devices. This review provides a critical overview of phage-based bioassays and biosensors developed in the last few years using different interrogation methods such as colorimetric, enzymatic, fluorescence, surface plasmon resonance, quartz crystal microbalance, magnetoelastic, Raman, or electrochemical techniques.
Topics: Animals; Bacteriophages; Biosensing Techniques; Cell Surface Display Techniques; Equipment Design; Genetic Engineering; Humans; Surface Plasmon Resonance; Transducers
PubMed: 26472318
DOI: 10.1007/s00216-015-9087-2 -
Viruses Mar 2011Bacteriophages have been a model system to study assembly processes for over half a century. Formation of infectious phage particles involves specific protein-protein... (Review)
Review
Bacteriophages have been a model system to study assembly processes for over half a century. Formation of infectious phage particles involves specific protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, as well as large conformational changes of assembly precursors. The sequence and molecular mechanisms of phage assembly have been elucidated by a variety of methods. Differences and similarities of assembly processes in several different groups of bacteriophages are discussed in this review. The general principles of phage assembly are applicable to many macromolecular complexes.
Topics: Bacteriophages; Viral Proteins; Virus Assembly
PubMed: 21994726
DOI: 10.3390/v3030172 -
Journal of Molecular Microbiology and... Oct 2000Historically, a number of bacteriophage-like particles have been observed in association with members of the bacterial order Spirochetales, the spirochetes. In the last... (Review)
Review
Historically, a number of bacteriophage-like particles have been observed in association with members of the bacterial order Spirochetales, the spirochetes. In the last decade, several spirochete bacteriophages have been isolated and characterized at the molecular level. We have recently characterized a bacteriophage of the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, which we have designated phiBB-1. Here we review the history of the association between the spirochetes and their bacteriophages, with a particular emphasis on phiBB-1 and its prophage, the 32-kb circular plasmid family of B. burgdorferi.
Topics: Bacteriophages; Borrelia burgdorferi Group; Humans; Lyme Disease; Spirochaetales
PubMed: 11075907
DOI: No ID Found -
Virus Research Aug 2017The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is populated by a huge variety of viruses. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) constitute the largest and the most unrecognized part of... (Review)
Review
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is populated by a huge variety of viruses. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) constitute the largest and the most unrecognized part of virome. The total bacteriophage community of the human gut is called phageome. Phages colonize the gut from the earliest moments of life and become our fellow travelers throughout life. Phageome seems to be unique to each individual and shows a high degree of interpersonal variation. In the healthy gut, a vast majority of phages have a lysogenic lifestyle. These prophages serve as a major respository of mobile genetic elements in the gut and play key roles in the exchange of genetic material between bacterial species via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). But, imbalance in the gut microbial community during dysbiosis, caused by diseases or environmental stresses such as antibiotics, is accompanied by induction of prophages leading to a decreased ratio of symbionts to pathobionts. Based on this, a diseased gut is transformed from an environment predominantly occupied by prophages to an ecosystem mostly inhabited by lytic phages. A growing body of evidence has provided support for the notion that phageome structure and composition change dependent on the physiological or pathological status of the body. This has been demonstrated by pronounced quantitative and qualitative differences between the phageome of healthy individuals and patients. Although many aspects of the contribution made by phages to human biology remain to be understood, recent findings favor the suggestion that phageome might represent potential to serve as a biomarker of health or disease.
Topics: Animals; Bacteriophages; Biomarkers; Gastrointestinal Tract; Health; Humans
PubMed: 28743462
DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2017.07.013 -
International Journal of Antimicrobial... Aug 2007Bacteriophages were first used successfully to treat bacterial infections a decade before penicillin was discovered. However, the excitement that greeted those initial... (Review)
Review
Bacteriophages were first used successfully to treat bacterial infections a decade before penicillin was discovered. However, the excitement that greeted those initial successes was short-lived, as a lack of understanding of basic phage biology subsequently led to a catalogue of clinical failures. As a consequence, bacteriophage therapy was largely abandoned in the West in favour of the newly emerging antibiotics. Now, as the problem of antibiotic resistance becomes ever more acute, a number of scientists and clinicians are looking again at bacteriophages as a therapeutic option in the treatment of bacterial infections. The chances of success second time round would appear to be much better given our current extensive knowledge of bacteriophage biology following their important role in underpinning the advances in molecular biology. We also have available to us the experience of nearly 80 years of clinical usage in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as well as a political climate that encourages sharing of that knowledge. This review outlines those features of bacteriophages that contribute to their utility in therapy and explores the potential for their re-introduction into Western medicine. An abundance of clinical evidence is available in the Soviet literature but much of this is technically flawed and a more realistic appraisal of the clinical value of phages can be obtained from animal studies conducted in the West. As interest in bacteriophages increases, a number of companies throughout the world have begun investing in phage technology and this has led to novel approaches to therapy, some of which will be discussed.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacterial Infections; Bacteriolysis; Bacteriophages; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Humans; Prophages; Spores, Bacterial
PubMed: 17566713
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2007.04.006 -
Advances in Virus Research 2012Since the advent of the electron microscope approximately 70 years ago, bacterial viruses and electron microscopy are inextricably linked. Electron microscopy proved... (Review)
Review
Since the advent of the electron microscope approximately 70 years ago, bacterial viruses and electron microscopy are inextricably linked. Electron microscopy proved that bacteriophages are particulate and viral in nature, are complex in size and shape, and have intracellular development cycles and assembly pathways. The principal contribution of electron microscopy to bacteriophage research is the technique of negative staining. Over 5500 bacterial viruses have so far been characterized by electron microscopy, making bacteriophages, at least on paper, the largest viral group in existence. Other notable contributions are cryoelectron microcopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction, particle counting, and immunoelectron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy has had relatively little impact. Transmission electron microscopy has provided the basis for the recognition and establishment of bacteriophage families and is one of the essential criteria to classify novel viruses into families. It allows for instant diagnosis and is thus the fastest diagnostic technique in virology. The most recent major contribution of electron microscopy is the demonstration that the capsid of tailed phages is monophyletic in origin and that structural links exist between some bacteriophages and viruses of vertebrates and archaea. DNA sequencing cannot replace electron microscopy and vice versa.
Topics: Bacteriophages; Capsid; DNA, Viral; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Gram-Positive Bacteria; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Microscopy, Atomic Force; Microscopy, Electron; Staining and Labeling; Virion
PubMed: 22420849
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-394621-8.00017-0