We are an undergraduate research team at the University of Maryland researching the use of bacteriophages as an alternative to antibiotics to fight antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. Bacteriophages are viruses that only attack bacteria, and they can be used to kill harmful bacteria in people, animals, and even food. Each species of bacteriophage has a very specific host and doesn't impact
any other bacterial cells or mammalian cells, so they can be used to treat infections with fewer side effects than antibiotics. Bacteriophages work like other viruses; they insert their genetic information into bacterial host cells and replicate themselves on the inside. Then these new phages burst out of the bacterial cell, killing it, and go on to destroy other bacterial cells. Phages have not been researched extensively due to the success of antibiotics. It is necessary to identify the harmful bacteria before selecting an appropriate phage to treat the infection because of their specificity, but this step is often not needed for antibiotic treatments because they target many species of bacteria. However, with the worrying increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, recently there has been renewed interest in bacteriophage research. In our project we are going to co-evolve Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria and one of its phages to create multiple strains of phage that can counter the various resistance mechanisms the bacteria develop. Then we hope to combine these strains into a cocktail that can be administered to people with A. Because of the co-evolution process, this cocktail should be able to overcome any resistance methods the bacteria develop. We chose to target A. baumannii because it is a major pathogen involved in hospital-acquired infections and has many antibiotic-resistant strains. Thank you for supporting Team LYTIC!
