Overview
- The international team isolated and experimentally characterized temperate bacteriophages from 252 anaerobically cultured gut bacterial isolates sourced from AusMiCC.
- Screening 10 compounds and conditions identified Stevia and human gut–cell–derived factors as potent inducers that can awaken otherwise dormant phages.
- Researchers validated 134 inducible prophages, finding only 18% of computationally predicted prophages activate in pure cultures under tested conditions.
- A 78-member synthetic microbiome co-cultured with human colonic cells led to induction of 35% of phage species, indicating strong host influence on viral activity.
- CRISPR-based edits uncovered viral gene mutations that block induction, and the authors describe potential future microbiome therapeutics and engineered probiotics as longer-term goals following this foundational work.