#12 · Genomics

Phage genome mining links lysis proteins and defence loci to bacterial host range

The common thread is large-scale genomic mining of bacteriophages to relate sequence content to host range and defence function. One preprint links 196,472 phage genomes to 618 pathogenic bacteria through MetaVR, profiling lysis proteins and endolysins as candidate enzybiotics against human bacterial pathogens. A published genomic survey of thousands of P2-like phages and P4-like satellites shows that antiviral defence loci are rapidly swapped and recombined during modular evolution of temperate phage repertoires. A second published study uses a minimal model of temperate phage competition to show when prophage-borne defence systems invade, coexist cyclically, or persist. Together these studies treat defence modules as mobile, evolvable components of phage genomes. What is new is the scale of host-linked inference applied to phage lysis machinery and defence modules, extending viral genomic survey toward therapeutic candidate discovery.