Study shows AI can design bacteriophages

Researchers from Stanford University and the Arc Institute have used artificial intelligence (AI) to design complete genomes of bacteriophages, viruses that infect and destroy bacteria.

The study could advance the development of alternatives to antibiotics, particularly for treating drug-resistant bacterial infections.

The research team used the AI programs Evo1 and Evo2 to generate new bacteriophages based on the ΦX174 family of phages, which specifically target Escherichia coli (E. coli).

About bacteriophages

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that selectively infect and kill bacteria.

Phages are among the most abundant naturally occurring biological entities and play an important role in regulating bacterial populations and shaping microbial ecosystems.

Phages destroy bacteria through a process called lysis. The virus first attaches to a bacterial cell and injects its genetic material into the cell.

The viral genetic material then reprograms the bacterial cell to produce new phages. Eventually, the infected bacterial cell ruptures, releasing large numbers of newly formed phages.

A major advantage of phages is their ability to target bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics.

Phages generally have high specificity, meaning that they target particular bacterial species or strains and do not infect human cells.

However, unlike conventional antibiotics, phages are not approved as medicines in most countries and are therefore mainly used on compassionate grounds in life-threatening cases when other treatment options have been exhausted.

Phage therapy has potential applications in the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections in humans, animals and plants, as well as potentially in environmental applications.

In humans, phage therapy may be particularly useful against antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, which no longer respond effectively to conventional antimicrobial medicines.

According to the WHO, case studies have reported successful use of phage therapy against infections caused by bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Sources: Science & WHO