Daijiworld Media Network- Melbourne

Melbourne, May 2: In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have found that a little-understood virus lurking within harmful bacteria could be a surprising ally in the fight against antibiotic-resistant infections, including pneumonia.

The study, published in Science Advances, reveals that telomere phages—a type of bacteriophage previously dismissed as a scientific curiosity—are not only widespread but may help beneficial bacteria kill their more dangerous, drug-resistant cousins.

Led by Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute, the Australian research team uncovered these viral elements within Klebsiella—a bacteria responsible for pneumonia and other serious infections. These telomere phages produce toxins, dubbed “telocins”, that allow host bacteria to eliminate nearby rivals.

“For more than 20 years of intensive bacterial genomics, telomere phages had remained hidden in plain sight. We have missed an entire aspect of biology,” said Professor Trevor Lithgow, who heads the lab that made the discovery.

The scientists identified a fourth telomere phage while sequencing a clinical Klebsiella strain, leading to a broader analysis that confirmed the virus is present in thousands of Klebsiella lineages—including environmental and clinical strains.

The real breakthrough lies in the toxins these phages enable: telocins appear to help “good” Klebsiella strains eliminate drug-resistant “bad” ones, potentially offering a new bacterial self-policing strategy.

“We now want to understand how the host secretes the toxin and how the toxin infiltrates neighbouring bacteria,” said Dr Sally Byers of the Lithgow Lab.

This finding opens the door to developing natural microbial treatments that could one day complement or even replace antibiotics in fighting deadly infections.