Method for identifying short host - determining tail fibre protein sequences of bacteriophages and phage tail- like structures used to develop antimicrobial therapies

Abstract

In view of exacerbating antimicrobial resistance, more therapies based on bacteriophages and phage taillike structures are under development due to their inherent precise target-binding mechanism conferred to them by tail fibre and spike proteins. A challenge in developing these therapies is the lack of programmable methods of modification of natural tail fibre proteins to henceforth target a particular disease-cause microorganism. This invention seeks to solve this through the quick, in silica identification of short tail fibre protein sequences (three to nine amino acid residues long) that directly determine the cellular targets of corresponding bacteriophages or phage tail-like structures. It is primarily useful for drug-developers of phagebased therapies who seek to repurpose natural bacteriophages or phage tail-like structures into an antimicrobial agent against a selected pathogen