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Pseudomonas aeruginosa / bacteriophage interactomics: Identification of new bacterial targets and antimicrobial molecules. KU Leuven

Rob Lavigne
Division Animal and Human Health Engineering
Pseudomonas aeruginosa</> causes life-threatening infections. Considering the current poor rate of release of novel antibiotics, let alone entirely novel classes of antibiotics, it is a worrying indication that we may soon run out of treatment options. Therefore, the development of innovative antibiotics targeting (not yet exploited) essential bacterial pathways will be crucial in
the near future.

Strictly lytic ...

Bacteriophage therapy for difficult-to-treat infections: the implementation of a multidisciplinary phage task force (PHAGEFORCE) KU Leuven

Willem-Jan Metsemakers
Locomotor and Neurological Disorders, Microbial and Plant Genetics (CMPG), Animal and Human Health Engineering (A2H), Allergy and Clinical Immunology Research Group, Laboratory of Intensive Care Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy
Infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming a global health threat and few novel antibiotic agents are currently in the pipeline. A promising alternative for the treatment of these difficult-to-treat infections is bacteriophage therapy. Although phages have been applied since the beginning of the last century, especially in Eastern Europe, there is still little evidence on the exact working mechanisms and the optimal application ...

Identification and characterization of interactions between bacteriophage proteins and protein complexes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa KU Leuven

Rob Lavigne
Division Animal and Human Health Engineering

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium which is able to colonize a very wide range of ecological niches, because of its large genome which contains a broad regulatory network to allow fast adaptations to changing environments. This capacity and the production of various virulence factors, allows this opportunistic pathogen to infect humans and cause severe, life-threatening diseases, especially in ...

Study and exploitation of bacteriophage encoded endolysins and expolysaccharide depolymerases. KU Leuven

Guido Volckaert
Department of Biosystems (BIOSYST), Division Animal and Human Health Engineering
Bacteriophages (or phages) are widespread viruses which infect bacteria. They use refined and highly adapted mechanisms to hijack the bacterial cell, which is subsequently used for the phage's replication. Unraveling the underlying fundamental processes and interactions between phage and host cell constitutes a corner stone in fundamental molecular research and served as a base for numerous applications. During the replication cycle, phages ...

Bacteriophages in the honey bee gut and their effects on health, behavior and development. (B-Phage project) KU Leuven

Jelle Matthijnssens
Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology (Rega Institute), Universiteit Gent, University of Leicester

Honey bees are an essential part of entire ecosystems, and important pollinators for commercial crops worldwide. Their health has declined significantly due to parasites, bacterial and viral pathogens, as well as chemical stressors and lack of biodiversity. It has become clear that the honey bee microbiota plays an important role in their ability to digest pollen and the development of their immune system. Recently we identified a large ...

Bacteriophages in the honey bee gut and their effects on health, behavior and development. (B-Phage project) Ghent University

Dirk de Graaf
Department of Biochemistry and microbiology

Honey bees are an essential part of entire ecosystems, and important pollinators for commercial crops worldwide. Their health has declined significantly due to parasites, bacterial and viral pathogens, as well as chemical stressors and lack of biodiversity. It has become clear that the honey bee microbiota plays an important role in their ability to digest pollen and the development of their immune system. Recently we identified a large ...

Characterization of lytic bacteriophages infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa and their peptidoglycan and exopolysaccharide degrading enzymes KU Leuven

Zuzanna Drulis-Kawa, Rob Lavigne
Division Animal and Human Health Engineering

Antibiotic resistance of bacterial pathogens is an emerging problem worldwide.
As multidrug resistant organisms fail to respond to antimicrobial therapy, infections become more severe and cause more complications which in turn leads to longer illnesses (Gould, 2006; Haecker, 2009; Hübner et al., 2012). The aerobic Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important and dangerous microbes ...

Bacteriophages in the honey bee gut and their effects on health and development KU Leuven

Jelle Matthijnssens
Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology (Rega Institute)

Despite the recent advances in the knowledge of the honey bee gut metagenome, very little data are available on the prokaryotic viral part (bacteriophages) of the microbiome in honey bees. Bacteriophages are considered the most prevalent biological units globally, execute essential roles within their respective ecosystems and have a strong influence on their hosts and ecosystem equilibria. The multitude of functions prokaryotic viruses can ...

Lytic bacteriophages and probiotic Bacillus spp. as novel biocontrol agents of Motile Aeromonad Septicaemia (MAS) in farmed Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): A holistic approach to disease management. Ghent University

Peter Bossier
Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Busitema University

Local bacteriophages and probiotic Bacillus spp. will be isolated and characterized. The isolates wil be tested against Aeromonas hydrophila, both in vivo and in vitro under lab conditions. Bacillus spp. will be combined together with selected bacteriophages to test for a synergistic effect under lab conditions. Semi-field trials will conducted on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) for field verification.

Bacteriophages in the treatment of therapy-resistant chronic rhinosinusitis KU Leuven

Laura Van Gerven
Research Group Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Research Group, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE), Animal and Human Health Engineering (A2H)

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming a global health threat and no new antibiotics can be expected in the upcoming years (WHO data). Furthermore, some pathogens are able to form biofilms, making them inaccessible for immune cells and antibiotics, regardless of antibiotic resistance genes.The increasing presence of these pathogens in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has made therapy more challenging. The therapeutic use of bacteriophages, ...