The Tug-of-War Inside Bacteria: New Study Sheds Light on Viral Infection Mechanisms

Recent research on phages—bacteria-infecting viruses—reveals that the number and interactions of phages during infection impact their entry into host cells, influenced by the cell’s electrophysiology. This discovery opens new avenues for understanding phage behavior and its implications for biotechnology.

Researchers have studied the process by which phages—viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria—enter cells for over 50 years. In a new study, scientists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Texas A&M University have employed cutting-edge techniques to examine this process at the single-cell level.

“The field of phage biology has seen an explosion over the last decade because more researchers are realizing the significance of phages in ecology, evolution, and biotechnology,” said Ido Golding (CAIM/IGOH), a professor of physics. “This work is unique because we looked at phage infection at the level of individual bacterial cells.”