RobLavigne.bsky.social

How a patient’s voice inspired our development of implementing phage therapy for Hidradenitis Suppurativa patients The research journey presented in Nature communications began not in the lab, but in conversations with desperate patients and doctors. Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) is not just a clinical term, it’s ...

How a patient’s voice inspired our development of implementing phage therapy for Hidradenitis Suppurativa patients
www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-pa...

31.12.2025 15:20 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

A link to the past: classical phage ISP infects the recently described Staphylococcus borealis species - Virology Journal Background Staphylococcal infections, caused by a large variety of species within the Staphylococcus genus, are a threat to human health. Although antibiotics are the current choice of treatment for these infections, bacteriophage (phage) therapy has been used with success against Staphylococcus since the dawn of phage therapy. In 2020 a new coagulase-negative species named Staphylococcus borealis was described in Norway. In this study, we focused on understanding phage infections in S. borealis. Methods: First, we predict the presence of prophages and phage-defence mechanisms in the genomes of a collection of twelve S. borealis strains by bioinformatics. We also attempted to isolate S. borealis-infecting phages from Norwegian samples and tested the host-range of three known staphylococcal phages against a panel of fifty Norwegian staphylococcal strains. Results: The presence of prophages and phage defence systems was verified in all tested S. borealis strains. No local Norwegian phages could be obtained in a phage isolation attempt targeted towards S. borealis. The host range analysis shows that phage ISP, originally isolated in the 1920s and still used for phage therapy to date, can infect S. capitis and the S. borealis Hus23 strain. Phage ISP was shown to limit S. borealis Hus23 growth in liquid cultures and lower the formation of biofilm by the bacterium. The efficiency of plating of phage ISP can be improved by repeated passages in the new S. borealis Hus23 host. Conclusions: here we expand the known host range of the traditional phage ISP by showing that it also infects S. borealis and can be adapted to the new host by serial passages, showcasing the flexibility of phages as an antimicrobial strategy.

Collab with the Norwegian team at UiT – Tromsø : #phage ISP infects #Staphylococcus borealis species and its efficacy was boosted by adaptation to enable #phagetherapy use.

doi.org/10.1186/s129...

#Microbiology #HostRange #Antimicrobials #PhageAdaptation #NewSpecies #AMR

30.09.2025 06:26 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Non-model bacteria as platforms for endogenous gene expression in synthetic biology - Nature Reviews Bioengineering Microbial synthetic biology might greatly benefit from the application of non-model organisms, which have been evolutionarily optimized for the production of specific proteins and metabolites. This Review discusses the design and application of endogenous production in non-model organisms.

Exploring how non-model #bacteria can become next-gen platforms for endogenous #gene expression in #SynBio —unlocking diversity beyond #Ecoli. 🚀🧬
share.google/bLxCZ0cqFLQ8tsfaN

#SyntheticBiology #MicrobialEngineering #Bioengineering #NonModelOrganisms

30.09.2025 06:15 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

improved #bovine #mastitis treatment using designer #endolysin in #streptococcus uberis #mouse model
#Researchpaper with E. Meyer in @SpringerMicBio :
bit.ly/LysinMastitis

#antibiotic #bacteria #infectious #disease #sustainable #agriculture
#phage #protein #engineering

01.02.2024 12:26 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Amazing work headed by Sokolova team on #phage tail-tape fused #RNAP structural analysis. Glad ONT-cappable seq proved useful to analyze the #transcriptome landscape.
#Researchpaper in @NatureComms :
bit.ly/TailRNAP

#thermophilic #virus #microbiology #crystallography

31.01.2024 13:20 — 👍 7    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0