New lab tool identifies viruses that can kill Staphylococcus aureus

A newly developed laboratory tool can, within hours, help identify specific viruses that can be used to kill variants of the dangerous pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Viruses against bacteria, known as bacteriophages, offer an alternative approach to antibiotics for treating multidrug-resistant pathogens. The new tool could be an important contribution to future phage therapy, which is not yet used as a standard. It was developed by a research group led by Prof. Andreas Peschel from the University of Tübingen and published in the journal Cell Reports.

Multidrug-resistant bacteria are a growing threat to global health. Among them is a pathogen often found in hospitals, Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause severe inflammation and even sepsis. In its multidrug-resistant form, MRSA is only very difficult to treat.

“Antibiotics are our main weapon in the fight against infections, but increasingly we see that they are either ineffective or cause too many side effects.”

Andreas Peschel, study leader

In contrast, phages are highly specific and are able to target and destroy individual pathogens without disrupting the rest of the patients’ health-promoting microbiome.

A foe’s enemy becomes a friend

Phage therapy takes advantage of the fact that bacteriophages specifically infect certain varieties of bacteria, multiply in them, and eventually destroy them. During this process, new bacteriophages are released that can fight other bacteria. The researchers explain that due to their specificity, bacteriophages stop multiplying when all pathogenic bacteria have been destroyed.  One of the challenges of such therapy is choosing the right bacteriophages.

Scientists have developed a tool to identify bacteriophages to Staphylococcus aureus (Phage Aureus RBP Identification System; PhARIS). They believe this tool has great potential to improve phage therapy in the treatment of infected wounds and implant-related infections. The research team plans to further develop the system for other pathogens. The goal is to make the new tool a standard laboratory tool for rapid and efficient phage identification as an alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of various bacterial infections.

Worldwide, infections caused by multidrug-resistant microorganisms are difficult to treat and are one of the most serious medical problems of our time. New research results from the University of Tübingen show conclusively how important basic research in this field is. As part of the project, the researchers have developed an innovative tool that speeds up the selection of suitable phages for future therapy. As a result, it directly benefits patients. These outstanding research results further emphasize the leading position of microbiology and infectious biology at the University of Tübingen internationally.