Hard to jump: host shifts appear unlikely in a T4-like phage evolved in the lab
Our findings suggest that phages exhibit high host specificity, which limits the risk of host shifts to commensal bacteria. Although adaptation to semi-permissive hosts is possible, it is constrained and associated with fitness trade-offs across host ranges. These results indicate that therapeutic phages are unlikely to negatively impact intestinal microbiota, supporting their potential as safe and effective alternatives to antibiotics.
Authors
- Yu Ning (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2517-8907)
- Flor I. Arias-Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4422-7496)
- Enrique González-Tortuero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8934-6822)
- Jeroen Wagemans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2185-5724)
Institutions
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Swiss Integrative Center for Human Health (CH)
- Berlin-Brandenburger Centrum für Regenerative Therapien (DE)
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
- University of Salford (GB)
- KU Leuven (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
- Published
- 2025-11-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1597805
- Primary Topic
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- China Scholarship Council