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The Phage Underground

Abstract…

According to the World Health Organization (2023), “the rapid global spread of multi- and pan-resistant bacteria known as superbugs has become especially alarming as they are not treatable with our existing antimicrobial medicines: antibiotics”. Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microbe to resist the effects of a particular drug, which has diminished access to quality antimicrobials throughout the world. This phenomenon is detrimental to science and medicine because antibiotics currently used no longer work, thus making infections harder to treat. It is crucial that scientists start exploring other possible solutions to fight bacterial infections. Looking to past methods, bacteriophages are a viable alternative, as bacteriophages are viruses that specifically attack bacteria cells and can be isolated to treat particular infections. This research project started by sampling soil from Penn State Schuylkill’s campus as well as the garden in the researcher’s backyard in New Jersey. Then procedures to isolate bacteriophages from the soil were performed, and on those isolated phages, tests determined its capabilities, including host range specificity. Mycobacterium smegmatis is the initial host, while exploration continues in testing these phages against hosts of Gordonia rubripertincta, Arthrobacter globiformis, and Microbacterium testacum with later DNA sequencing and Transmission Electron Microscopy. ​

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