New tool closes gap in harnessing untapped potential of phages

New tool to mutate phages boosts the fight against superbugs

A new tool to mutate bacteriophages – viruses that infect bacteria – provides a "big leap" forward in both our understanding of how they function, and our ability to harness their full potential.

New tool closes gap in harnessing untapped potential of phages

A new tool to mutate bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria—provides a "big leap" forward in our understanding of how they function and our ability to harness their full potential.

New Gene-Editing Tool Could Help Scientists Unlock Viruses That Kill Bacteria

Viruses that attack bacteria could one day help treat some infections that resist antibiotics. They may also offer ways to protect crops with fewer chemical treatments. But scientists still do not know what many of the genes in these viruses do, making it difficult to use them reliably. A team at the University of Otago […]

Transposon tool maps the essential genes of diverse phages

Bacteriophages are the most abundant biological entities on Earth, yet for most of the genes packed into their compact genomes, scientists still do not know what the genes do or whether the viruses can survive without them. A team at the University of Otago in New Zealand has now unveiled a genome-wide method, called phage Tn-seq, that systematically identifies which phage genes are essential and which are dispensable, and that doubles as a rapi…

Bacteriophages could power a new generation of intelligent pathogen sensors

A new review argues that bacteriophages, engineered with synthetic biology and paired with artificial intelligence, could enable faster, programmable biosensors for detecting living pathogens.

New CRISPR-Based Tool Enables Genome-Wide Mutagenesis of Bacteriophages

A CRISPR-based method for disrupting genes across bacteriophage genomes has been developed, creating a faster route to uncover gene functions and engineer phages for potential therapeutic and biotechnology applications. The post New CRISPR-Based Tool Enables Genome-Wide Mutagenesis of Bacteriophages appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.