Plasmid-specific bacteriophages to fight antibiotic resistance spread in the environment (P-PhanFARE)

Plasmid-specific bacteriophages to fight antibiotic resistance spread in the environment (P-PhanFARE)
The epidemic spread of antibiotic resistance is causing a global health crisis. It is facilitated by the transfer, from antibiotic-resistant bacteria to antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, of genetic elements called conjugal plasmids that carry resistance genes. Wastewater contains many bacteria carrying these plasmids but we lack sustainable options to eliminate them. Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, exist that selectively target conjugal pili, appendages only present in plasmid-carrying cells. These phages are not well studied in an ecological context and their potential to interfere with gene transfer in microbial communities has not been assessed, nor exploited. In P-PhanFARE, we will develop and evaluate a unique biocontrol concept using these bacteriophages to target the plasmids responsible for the epidemic transfer of resistance genes.