Bold claim: Bacteriophages are not just tiny bugs; they are powerful influencers of how bacteria behave, evolve, and even impact human health. Now, the lab led by Breck Duerkop, PhD, an associate professor of immunology and microbiology at the CU Anschutz School of Medicine, dives deep into how phages interact with their bacterial hosts to reshape microbial communities.
Bacteriophages, or phages, are the most abundant life forms on Earth. They can infect virtually all known bacteria, making them a ubiquitous and influential force within mammalian microbiomes. Yet our understanding of how phages shape these microbial ecosystems—and their potential links to health and disease—remains in its early chapters. The Duerkop lab aims to close that gap by uncovering the mechanisms phages use to modulate bacteria and by evaluating how these interactions influence human health over time.
The team employs a diverse toolkit—genetic, biochemical, computational, and immunological approaches—to illuminate phage–bacteria dynamics. Two main research threads drive their work:
- Molecular infection and bacterial countermeasures: The scientists investigate how phages invade bacterial cells and, conversely, how bacteria defend against phage attack. They discover novel phages that target antibiotic‑resistant bacteria by mining environmental reservoirs, such as wastewater. A particular focus is on Enterococcus species, including E. faecalis and E. faecium, which are Gram‑positive intestinal residents that can shift from harmless commensals to opportunistic pathogens under certain conditions.
- Virome and immune system interactions: The researchers explore how the mammalian immune system shapes phage communities, or the virome, and whether immune‑driven perturbations in phage populations perturb the balance of intestinal bacterial communities, thereby influencing intestinal health.
Looking ahead, the Duerkop group will continue to uncover how bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements shape bacterial behavior. Revealing these hidden mechanisms will not only deepen understanding of bacterial adaptation but also illuminate what might occur inside the human body during phage‑influenced infections.
Ultimately, the researchers hope this knowledge will translate into new strategies for treating human bacterial infections that resist traditional antibiotics but remain vulnerable to therapies targeting phages or phage–bacteria interactions.
To learn more about the scientists in the Department of Immunology & Microbiology, visit the department’s homepage and the meet-the-scientists pages for basic sciences.
