Viral dark matter exposed: Metagenome database detects phage-derived antibacterial enzyme

Friday, July 10, 2020 - 10:10 in Biology & Nature

In a pioneer study published in Cell Host & Microbe, Researchers at Osaka City University and The Institute for Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, reported intestinal bacterial and viral metagenome information from the fecal samples of 101 healthy Japanese individuals. This analysis, leveraging host bacteria-phage associations, detected phage-derived antibacterial enzymes that control pathobionts. As proof of concept, phage-derived endolysins are shown to regulate C. difficile infection in mice.

Read the whole article on Physorg

More from Physorg

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net