Post by Cluster of Excellence 'MicroPlanet'

New Austrian Science Fund FWF CoE Microplanet Publication in Royal Society of Chemistry Chemical Biology! Elevated levels of bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) are linked to diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, Type 2 Diabetes, and severe infections. Yet, the underlying mechanisms remain unsolved – partially due to a lack of specific chemical tools. A new study from the lab of CoE Key Researcher Thomas Boettcher, with first author Konstantin Plöchl (Universität Wien), identified benzimidazylpyrazoles as a novel class of phage blockers. These molecules stop phages from replicating early in the infection process, reducing phage titer by up to 10^5-fold, working across different phage types and hosts. Thus, this new class of phage blockers provides a valuable chemical tool to better understand disease-related phage-host interactions. 📃Link to the publication: https://lnkd.in/dvunBR4E