Sydney– A virus once considered a scientific oddity may play a critical role in the battle against dangerous bacterial infections, including pneumonia, according to new research from Monash University in Australia.
The study, published in Science Advances, reveals that a class of viruses known as telomere phages—previously dismissed as biological curiosities—are not only common but may help beneficial bacteria eliminate harmful, drug-resistant strains.
Telomere phages are a type of bacteriophage, or phage—viruses that infect bacteria. While earlier studies focused primarily on their unusual DNA replication process, the new research shows that bacteria carrying these phages produce powerful toxins capable of killing off neighboring bacterial rivals.
“We’ve overlooked an entire aspect of bacterial biology,” said Professor Trevor Lithgow, head of the Bacterial Cell Biology Lab at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute. “After more than two decades of bacterial genome sequencing, telomere phages had remained hidden in plain sight.”
The breakthrough came during the sequencing of a clinical strain of Klebsiella—a bacterial genus known to cause pneumonia and other severe, drug-resistant infections. Researchers discovered a fourth telomere phage in the strain and began a broader investigation.
Their analysis found that telomere phages are widespread across thousands of Klebsiella lineages, including samples collected from natural water sources. More importantly, these phages enable the bacteria to produce newly identified toxins—dubbed “telocins”—that allow phage-carrying “good” Klebsiella to kill off neighboring, antibiotic-resistant “bad” Klebsiella.
“This opens up a new bacterial management strategy,” Lithgow said. “The phage-carrying bacteria essentially act as enforcers, eliminating drug-resistant threats nearby.”
Sally Byers, a researcher in the Lithgow Lab, emphasized the next steps: “We now want to understand how the host bacteria secrete these toxins and how the toxins infiltrate and disable competing bacterial cells.”
The team believes that telomere phages—and their protective role—may be present in other bacterial species as well, offering a promising new avenue in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. (Source: IANS)
