Phage-host interaction

Bacterial immune systems

Bacteria have evolved a remarkably diverse arsenal of antiviral defense mechanisms to protect themselves from phage infection. Beyond classical protein- and RNA-based immune systems, our research focuses on newly emerging defense strategies, including small molecule-mediated antiphage defenses that can provide protection at the population or community level. Using phages infecting actinobacteria as model systems, we investigate how these defenses are activated, coordinated, and transmitted, and how phages in turn evolve countermeasures to evade or suppress them. By dissecting this molecular arms race, we aim to uncover fundamental principles governing bacterial immunity and phage adaptation.

Regulatory logic of phage life cycles

Phages propagate by targeting and rewiring regulatory networks of their bacterial hosts to control cellular processes and infection outcomes. We investigate how phages manipulate transcriptional, metabolic, and stress-response pathways in bacterial cells, and how these interactions are influenced by co-infecting phages and resident prophages. A particular focus is on regulatory crosstalk that governs cooperation, competition, or interference between (pro-)phages and determines the balance between lytic growth and lysogeny. Together, these studies reveal how multilayered regulatory interactions shape phage dynamics and microbial evolution.

Phage-based biocontrol strategies

Phage-based biocontrol offers great potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional strategies for controlling bacterial infections and contaminations in medicine, biotechnology, agriculture and beyond. Building on a fundamental understanding of phage biology, we develop targeted biocontrol approaches with a particular focus on plant-pathogenic bacteria.

By bridging basic and applied research, our work aims to understand how phage treatments influence plant immune responses, providing the knowledge needed to design effective, safe, and sustainable phage-based treatment strategies.

Selected publications

1. Kever L, Zhang Q, Hardy A, Westhoff P, Yu Y, Frunzke J. (2024) Resistance against aminoglycoside antibiotics via drug or target modification enables community-wide antiphage defense. microLife, 5:uqae015. doi: 10.1093/femsml/uqae015.
2. Erdrich S, Schurr U, Frunzke J* & Arsova B* (2024) Seed coating with phages for sustainable plant biocontrol of plant pathogens and influence of the seed coat mucilage. Microbial Biotechnology, 17(6):e14507. doi: 10.1111/1751-7915.14507.
3. Frunzke J, Lavigne R. (2024) Editorial overview: There and back again: a phage's tale. Curr Opin Microbiol. 80:102518. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2024.102518.
4. Luthe T, Kever L, Hänsch S, Hardy A, Tschowri N, Weidtkamp-Peters S and Frunzke J. (2023) Streptomyces development is involved in the efficient containment of viral infections. microLife, doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqad002.
5. Kever L, Hardy A, Luthe T, Hünnefeld M, Gätgens C, Milke L, Wiechert J, Wittmann J, Moraru C, Marienhagen J, Frunzke J. (2022) Aminoglycoside Antibiotics Inhibit Phage Infection by Blocking an Early Step of the Infection Cycle. mBio, 13(3):e0078322. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00783-22. 

Funding