Phage therapy has served as a good alternative to antibiotics by using bacteriophages to treat various infections caused by bacteria. Equipped with world-leading technology platforms and professional scientific staff, Creative Biolabs provides a series of phage-related assays for our clients all over the world.
Bacillus cereus refers to a facultatively anaerobic gram-positive bacterium. The bacteria can be commonly found in soil, food, and marine sponges. It reproduces rapidly over a wide temperature range with pre-formed toxins present in abundance. Due to the high resistance of the formed endospores to extreme conditions such as heat, pH, and desiccation, they are difficult to eradicate from food production processes as well as in clinical settings. As one of the most important foodborne pathogens, B. cereus can cause two types of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, including emetic and diarrheal syndrome. Besides, B. cereus is increasingly linked to non-gastrointestinal infections.
Fig.1 Phage infection. (Creative Biolabs)
The B. cereus group comprises a variety of gram-positive, spore-forming bacterial species that are genetically closely related. They can cause human diseases and have been used in biotechnological applications. The most prominent members include as follows:
Studies have shown that there are a number of bacteriophages associated with members of the B. cereus group. Till now, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) type phages, belonging to the order Cauroviridae or the Tectiviridae family, are the only class of phages capable of preying on the B. cereus group. For example, BCP1-1, BCP8-2, Bace-11, and CP-51 are phages that belong to the Myoviridae family, while J7W-1, MZTP01, Px1, and CP-53 belong to the Siphoviridae family. What's more, B. cereus group phages can also be classified into transducing phages, phages with chromosomal or plasmid prophage states, giant phages, and gamma-like phages, based on morphotype, lifestyle, and/or lysogenic state. With the rapid development of DNA sequencing technology, a large number of phages will be discovered and described.
In the past decades, phage research has presented potential applications in several fields, such as vaccine development, therapeutic delivery, bacterial detection, etc. However, it is important to note that the phage has only been tested on phage typing and biocontrol of the B. cereus group so far.
Fig.2 Transmission electron micrograph of the Twort-like phage vB_BceM_Bc431v3. (Gillis & Mahillon, 2014)
To fill the gaps in this field of phage therapy, Creative Biolabs offers the most advanced and comprehensive phage-related services today. We work to amplify your success in a highly collaborative manner. If you are interested in our services or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us for detailed information.
* For Research Use Only. We do not provide direct services or products for patients.