ARKHANGELSK, December, 12. /TASS/. Russian scientists discovered a new species of bacteriophage in the Arctic, Artemy Goncharov of the Institute of Experimental Medicine told TASS. The virus may be eyed as a component of drugs to treat human bacterial infections.
"A new Escherichia coli flora2c bacteriophage has been isolated from an ornithogenic bio substrate," he said. "Its genome sequence allows us to attribute this virus to a new species of the Justusliebigvirus genus."
"Noteworthy, bacteriophages of this genus are considered as promising drug components for phage therapy of human infectious diseases, in particular urinary tract infections," he added.
The bacteriophage has been isolated from soil at a bird colony north of Cape Flora on the West Northbrook Island, the Franz Josef Land Archipelago. It is active against the Escherichia coli 2c test strain.
The obtained results confirm the suggestion that ornithogenic, that is, ecosystems associated with bird colonies, in the high-latitude Arctic may be a resource base to search for new bacteriophages that can be used in medicine as antibacterial drugs.
Microbiologists continue searching for bacterial viruses, that is, bacteriophages, which may be used in prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, he continued. "We have made several discoveries of such viruses in the Antarctic. By now, we have developed a technology of phage search, including in the field or in the material that we receive in such expeditions," he said in conclusion.