Overcoming the growth-infectivity trade-off in a bacteriophage slows bacterial resistance evolution.

ABSTRACT: The use of lytic bacteriophages for treating harmful bacteria (phage therapy) is faced with the challenge of bacterial resistance evolution. Phage strains with certain traits, for example, rapid growth and relatively broad infectivity ranges, may enjoy an advantage in slowing bacterial resistance evolution. Here, we show the possibility for laboratory selection programs ("evolutionary training") to yield phage genotypes with both high growth rate and broad infectivity, traits between which a trade-off has been assumed. We worked with a lytic phage that infects the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens and adopted three types of training strategies: evolution on susceptible bacteria, coevolution with bacteria, and rotation between evolution and coevolution phases. Overall, there w

SUBMITTER: Zhang QG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8372119 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature