Roadmap for Phage technologies

What are we trying to achieve and why? What is the problem we are trying to solve?

Investigating basic phage-pathogen interaction, kinetics and evolution of phages and their targets.

What are the scientific and technological challenges (knowledge gaps needing to be addressed)?

In vitro study for phage-pathogen interaction
For many bacteria need to know physiological state it is in when it causes infection
Determining which resistance or counter-defence processes will take place at any given moment depends on multiple factors, e.g., mutation rate, bacterial population diversity, nutrient availability, spatial structure etc
How do phages interact with plasmids and their suicide systems.

What approaches could/should be taken to address the research question?

In vitro modelling over time with sequencing analysis.
Integration of epidemiology and ecology of bacteria and phages into disease management.

Need more in silico and in vivo studies to investigate co-evolutionary dynamics – short versus long term.
Identifying phage binding sites/surface virulence determinants: map the adhesion sites and determine the common binding tags of the adhesion with the receptor. This may lead to a better understanding of the binding and engineer a phage with the desired spectrum – Identify tail fiber determinants and specificity and attachment site.
X-ray and other 3D analysis systems for receptor study.

What else needs to be done before we can solve this need?

Modelling systems probably already exist.

Existing knowledge including successes and failures