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Open research questions in Bacteriophages and microbial interactions

180 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 492 Bacteriophages and microbial interactions papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The lack of standardized and harmonized methods for phage susceptibility and potency testing. The need for a coordinated infrastructure to integrate laboratory diagnostics, phage preparation, and clinical expertise. The importance of monitoring and addressing emerging phage resistance.

    A consensus-based guideline for personalized bacteriophage therapy · 2026 · DOI

  • Strategies to support the development of safe, effective, and clinically applicable phage-based therapies for chronic pulmonary infections - Research on the long-term stability of dry powder formulations - Studies on the effects of excipients on phage stability

    Phage therapy for multidrug-resistant pulmonary infections: bridging precision matching, lung delivery, host immunity, and clinical translation · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited clinical evidence for phage therapy in pulmonary infections. Substantial heterogeneity in study design, treatment protocols, and outcome measures. Need for safe, effective, and clinically applicable phage-based therapies.

    Phage therapy for multidrug-resistant pulmonary infections: bridging precision matching, lung delivery, host immunity, and clinical translation · 2026 · DOI

  • The risk of responders manipulating the answers. Questions might be too subjective. The sample size might be too low. The need to ensure that the questions in the quiz are not directly related to the information contained in the questionnaire.

    Perception of phage therapy and research across selected professional and social groups in Poland · 2025 · DOI

  • Investigating the phenomenon of high awareness of antibiotic resistance and low knowledge about associated risks, - Identifying groups with the highest and lowest awareness of antibiotic resistance, - Exploring the therapeutic connotations of phage research

    Perception of phage therapy and research across selected professional and social groups in Poland · 2025 · DOI

  • monitoring and iterative adjustment during treatment for bacterial resistance to phages, - further characterization of phage therapy

    A consensus-based guideline for personalized bacteriophage therapy · 2026 · DOI

  • Host-virus interactions remain poorly understood in archaea, whose information processing systems harbor a mosaic of bacterial and eukaryotic features.

    Ribosome profiling reveals translational dynamics between an archaeal virus and its host · 2026 · DOI

  • Thus, the putative soil viral metabolic inventory was sparse and concentrated in carbon-degradation functions, whereas much of the initial carbohydrate-active enzyme signal reflected core viral lysis functions rather than auxiliary metabolism.

    Predominance of viral core functions over auxiliary metabolism among carbohydrate-active enzymes annotated in the global soil virosphere · 2026 · DOI

  • Soil viruses are increasingly recognized as components of microbial communities with the potential to alter ecosystem functioning, yet the frequency and functional distribution of virus-encoded metabolic genes in soils remain poorly understood.

    Predominance of viral core functions over auxiliary metabolism among carbohydrate-active enzymes annotated in the global soil virosphere · 2026 · DOI

  • Single stranded RNA (ssRNA) and single stranded DNA (ssDNA) bacteriophages represent a key component of the global virome, yet the host genetic networks supporting their infection cycles remain poorly understood.

    Genome-wide characterization of host factors involved in single-stranded RNA and DNA phage infection pathways · 2026 · DOI

  • Data evaluating the impact of phage therapy via clinical trials are steadily increasing, but remain sparse.

    Approaching the post-antibiotic era: phage therapy current practices and future horizons · 2026 · DOI

  • ABSTRACT RNA phages are attractive platforms for the design of programmable bioparticles, but their development has been constrained by limited knowledge of genomic sites that can tolerate sequence insertion.

    Systematic mapping of insertion-tolerant regions enables capsid engineering of an infectious RNA phage · 2026 · DOI

  • Our results also shed light on the general structure of related ceduoviruses which, despite being the third-largest lactococcal virus group, have remained poorly understood from a structural perspective.

    Cryo-EM structure of bacteriophage Nocturne116: insights into the architecture of c2-like Lactococcus viruses · 2026 · DOI

  • IMPORTANCE Viruses that infect the widely used food fermenter Lactococcus lactis can cause major problems in the food industry, but despite considerable effort, there are still gaps in the understanding of these viruses.

    Cryo-EM structure of bacteriophage Nocturne116: insights into the architecture of c2-like Lactococcus viruses · 2026 · DOI

  • Conclusion Treatments with bacteriophage FNU1, therefore, have the potential to augment existing cancer therapy, and further testing in animal models is warranted.

    Bacteriophage FNU1 negates Fusobacterium nucleatum induced cell growth, migration and chemotherapy resistance in gastrointestinal cancer cells · 2026 · DOI

  • A systematic synthesis that consolidates these scattered findings and provides a coherent framework across different enhancement strategies is currently lacking.

    Research progress on nanomaterials in promoting phage function and application · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditional formulation approaches are insufficient to overcome these challenges, making it crucial to explore novel strategies that enhance phage functionality.

    Research progress on nanomaterials in promoting phage function and application · 2026 · DOI

  • IMPORTANCE This study fills the critical gap in understanding how phage cocktails synergize with amikacin against K.

    Phage vB_KpnM_NB cocktail synergizing with amikacin in inhibiting persister cells of Klebsiella pneumoniae · 2026 · DOI

  • Abstract Advances in genomics have revealed a diversity of nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (phylum Nucleocytoviricota) that infect eukaryotes, but their ecology beyond the oceans remains poorly understood.

    The biogeography of giant viruses and interactions with Eukaryotes across European lakes · 2026 · DOI

  • Although nutrients are fundamental determinants of bacterial metabolism and growth, their effects on phage susceptibility remain poorly characterized.

    Exogenous amino acids and saccharides mediate the sensitivity of Klebsiella pneumoniae phage · 2026 · DOI

  • Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which these nutrients affect bacterial physiological states and subsequently modulate susceptibility to phage infection remain poorly understood.

    Exogenous amino acids and saccharides mediate the sensitivity of Klebsiella pneumoniae phage · 2026 · DOI

  • Bacteriophages use receptor-binding proteins (RBPs) to adhere to bacterial hosts, yet their sequence and structural diversity remain poorly understood.

    RBPseg: Toward a complete phage tail fiber structure atlas · 2025 · DOI

  • Icosahedral capsids are ubiquitous among spherical viruses, yet their assembly pathways and governing interactions remain elusive.

    From disorder to icosahedral symmetry: How conformation-switching subunits enable RNA virus assembly · 2025 · DOI

  • Biochar amendment reshapes microbial community dynamics in vermicomposting, but the mechanism of how phages respond to this anthropogenic intervention and regulate the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) remains unclear.

    Nano-biochar regulates phage–host interactions, reducing antibiotic resistance genes in vermicomposting systems · 2025 · DOI

  • Increasing amounts of pesticides are entering the soil ecosystem, yet their potential influence on phage-mediated ARG spread, particularly under conditions of global change, remains poorly understood.

    Combined pesticide pollution enhances the dissemination of the phage-encoded antibiotic resistome in the soil under nitrogen deposition · 2025 · DOI

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180 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 492 Bacteriophages and microbial interactions papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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