Impact of a phage cocktail targeting and as members of a gut bacterial consortium and .

Escherichia coli and have been implicated as important players in human gut health that have been associated with the onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Bacteriophage (phage) therapy has been used for decades to target pathogens as an alternative to antibiotics, but the ability of phage to shape complex bacterial consortia in the lower gastrointestinal tract is not clearly understood. We administered a cocktail of six phages (either viable or heat-inactivated) targeting pro-inflammatory LF82 and OG1RF as members of a defined community in both a continuous fermenter and a murine colitis model.