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First-of-its-kind preventative phage therapy provides promising results
The mammalian gut microbiome relies on a delicate balance between bacteria and bacteriophages (phages). When a harmful pathogen like Salmonella is ingested, native phages are usually absent, and by the time the host falls ill, any phages present only manage a balance rather than eliminating the infection. To address this, Virginia Tech researchers engineered a nonpathogenic E. coli bacterium that pre-loads phages in the gut as a prophylactic defense. Published in Nature Microbiology, their study demonstrated that this proactive approach successfully protected mice from Salmonella by destroying the pathogen upon entry.