ARKHANGELSK, July 15. /TASS/. Scientists found a new type of virus on the Franz Josef Land Archipelago - the bacteriophage of E. coli. The discovery will help scientists in creating effective antibacterial drugs, Artemy Goncharov, leading the Biological Threats Monitoring Laboratory at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, professor of the Epidemiology, Parasitology and Disinfection Department at the Mechnikov Northwestern State Medical University, told TASS.
"This is a new type of virulent Kagunavirus. Representatives of the genus, to which this bacteriophage belongs, due to their high resistance to environmental factors and the ability to infect multi-antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli, are considered to be good candidates for biocontrol in medicine and agriculture, therefore this group of viruses requires further study," he said. "We hope to find during further expeditions viruses related to our phage with a higher pronounced therapeutic or biotechnological potential."
Viruses of this genus are able to recombine actively, that is, to exchange DNA sections, which makes them unique models in studying bacteriophages' molecular evolution, he added.
The species was discovered in soil samples collected under a bird market. Birds are carriers of E. coli strains, called A-PEC (Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli). A-PECs rarely cause diseases in humans, but they are the closest relatives of the strains that circulate in hospitals.
