SS22

Phages are viruses that infect bacteria. They can either transfer new genes or kill their host, and therefore, play a central role in shaping the microbial diversity and composition in the environment. Phages also have been the subject of research in multiple biotechnological applications. For example, phage therapy, which is the phage usage for therapeutic purposes, has been practised for nearly 80 years in Russia and Georgia. Moreover, phage therapy became a “hot topic” of research in western countries in the last decade due to the rising resistance to antibiotics of infectious bacteria. The principle of phage therapy has been extended for biocontrol in other fields including, in the agriculture and food industry. Furthermore, the diverse lifestyles and replication strategies have made phages an essential tool in molecular biology, for instance, for the development of methods like phage display. This course will comprise phage biology, ecology and biotechnological applications. In the first half, we will focus on the understanding of the biological, physical and molecular characteristics of phages, including phage structure, replication, and the principal methods employed for their study. In the second half, we will focus on learning the dynamic interaction between phages and bacteria in the environment as well as applications in genetic engineering and phage therapy. By the end of the course, the lectures will be complemented with the experimental lab work in a two-week practical course (29th August - 9th September, 2022)