IIT Madras, US researchers study viruses to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria

India Today

3 days ago

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and the United States are examining viruses in freshwater lakes to see how they influence the environment and human health. The study may help us tackle antibiotic resistance and enhance how we treat water bodies.Led by Dr Karthik Anantharaman, Visiting Professor, Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras, the team worked with more than 20 years' worth of data from 465 water samples collected from a lake in Madison, Wisconsin.advertisementThe research employed machine learning software to study the behavior of viruses in their natural habitat.
Dr Anantharaman, who is also a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to track viruses more closely. 'Knowing how viruses change and interact with their environment helps us prepare for outbreaks and understand their role in nature,' he said.
Dinesh Kumar (A lab member)
VIRUSES SHOW PATTERNS, POTENTIAL IN TACKLING POLLUTION AND SUPERBUGSScientists discovered that viruses have yearly cycles and can affect other organisms in the ecosystem.Certain viruses contained genes that were "borrowed" from their hosts, enabling them to perform essential biological processes. The team also reconstructed more than 1.3 million viral genomes -- the largest dataset of its type to date.advertisementOne of the hopeful applications is in phage therapy, a method that employs viruses to attack and destroy pathogenic bacteria. It may provide an answer to infections no longer treatable with antibiotics.
Patrica Tran sampling lake
The research also indicated that pollution can influence the population of viruses. It may aid in creating means to control water quality and mitigate issues such as algal blooms.IIT Madras Professor Karthik Raman explained that most viruses provide ecosystem balance, similar to how predators regulate wildlife populations.The study, which appeared in Nature Microbiology, was conducted by researchers from IIT Madras, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the overall environmental and health-related research initiatives of IIT Madras.