Scientists are building viruses from scratch to fight superbugs

Researchers from New England Biolabs and Yale University have reported the first fully synthetic system for engineering bacteriophages that target Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibiotic resistant bacterium poses a serious worldwide risk. The approach is described in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The system uses the High Complexity Golden Gate Assembly platform developed by New England Biolabs. Scientists assembled a phage genome from 28 synthetic DNA fragments rather than relying on existing virus samples. They introduced point mutations as well as DNA insertions and deletions to swap tail fiber genes and add fluorescent markers. This method allows the genome to be assembled outside the cell using synthetic DNA. The completed genome is then introduced into a safe laboratory strain where it becomes an active bacteriophage. The technique avoids many obstacles associated with traditional phage research that depend on physical samples and specialized host bacteria. Andy Sikkema, co first author of the paper and a research scientist at New England Biolabs, said bacteriophage engineering has been extremely labor intensive in the best of cases. The synthetic method offers technological leaps in simplicity, safety and speed, according to Sikkema.