It was a guerrilla assault worthy of the takedown of Osama bin Laden. But in this case, the assassins were intrepid viral invaders. In Andrew Camilli’s molecular biology lab at Tufts University in Boston, researchers found the telltale footprints of a startling attack against cholera, a deadly bacterial disease. They were analyzing the DNA sequences of tiny viruses called bacteriophages (literally, “bacteria eaters”) lurking in the stool samples of cholera patients. The phages’ DNA contained some of the genes from another bacteria’s immune system. Somehow, the tiny phages sneaked in and overpowered the much larger cholera cells, using a big chunk of this stolen immune system.
“We were surprised because it’s the first known example of any virus that has captured and commandeered [an] immune system,” says Camilli. “The phages clearly have gained the upper hand, and studying how they do it can eventually open the door for treating cholera with phages.”
Camilli’s research is part of a scientific renaissance into phage therapy, virtually unheard of in the West. Early in the 20th century, doctors worldwide used these bacteria-eating viruses to fight dysentery and other dangerous pathogens, only to abandon them after more effective antibiotics emerged. But today, researchers are turning to phages because antibiotics are losing their punch.
