Christian Lapitan

Exploring Bacteriophage and Antibiotic Resistance Trade-Offs in methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus (MRSA)

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, particularly MRSA, necessitates the exploration of alternative treatment strategies. Bacteriophage (phage) therapy is a promising approach, with advantages such as host specificity, self-amplification, and adaptive coevolution. However, bacteria can still evolve resistance to phages. Interestingly, fitness trade-offs between phage and antibiotic resistance have been observed across many bacterial species. Our previous work found that these trade-offs also occur in MRSA, exhibiting a marked increase in β-lactam antibiotic sensitivity upon acquiring phage resistance. My project focuses on exploring the mechanisms that mediate these trade-offs and the evolutionary dynamics of these resistance transitions.