Microbial “Piracy” Reveals Potential New Strategies against Antibiotic Resistance
Recent research from Imperial College London has uncovered a fascinating mechanism of gene transfer in bacteria, dubbed “molecular piracy,” that could hold the key to developing new therapies against antimicrobial resistance. The study, published in cell in August 2025, details how specialized mobile genetic elements, called cf-PICIs (chimeric phage-inducible chromosomal islands), allow bacteria to infiltrate new species, contributing to their widespread prevalence.
Researchers discovered that these cf-picis function by forming capsids – protective shells – adn “swapping tails” taken from other phages to deliver their DNA into host cells. This process, known as transduction, is a crucial method for spreading genes, including those conferring antibiotic resistance. As Dr. Tiago dias da Costa, from Imperial’s Department of Life Sciences, explains, “These pirate satellites don’t just teach us how bacteria share perilous traits. they could inspire next-generation therapies and tests to outmanoeuvre some of the most tough infections we face.”
The Imperial team, led by Professor Jose Penades from the Department of Infectious Disease, initially identified these unusual genetic elements as “a parasite of a parasite.” Professor Penades elaborated,”We now know these mobile genetic elements form capsids which can swap ‘tails’ taken from other phages to get their own DNA into a host cell. It’s an ingenious quirk of evolutionary biology, but it also teaches us more about how genes for antibiotic resistance can be spread through a process called transduction.”
The potential applications of this finding are significant. Researchers believe that by understanding and engineering cf-PICIs, they could re-engineer satellites to specifically target antibiotic-resistant bacteria, overcome bacterial defenses like biofilms, and create more effective diagnostic tools. Dr. Dias da Costa added, “This experimental work sheds more light on a crucial method of gene transfer in bacteria. If we can harness and engineer cf-PICIs it could provide us with a valuable new tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.” The team has already filed patents to further develop the technology and plans to begin translational testing.
Moreover, the research was validated by a groundbreaking AI platform developed by Google, nicknamed the ‘co-scientist.’ Coordinated through the Fleming Initiative – a partnership between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust – the Imperial team used the platform to address the question: How do cf-PICIs spread across so many bacterial species? The AI independently generated hypotheses mirroring the team’s experimentally proven findings, achieving in days what had taken years of laboratory work. Researchers believe this demonstrates the potential of AI to “super-charge science” by accelerating discovery, not replacing human insight. They are currently collaborating with Google to further refine the platform and explore its broader applications in biomedical research.
The findings are detailed in two Cell publications: He, L., et al. (2025). Chimeric infective particles expand species boundaries in phage-inducible chromosomal island mobilization. Cell. doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.019 and Penadés, J. R., et al. (2025). AI mirrors experimental science to uncover a mechanism of gene transfer crucial to bacterial evolution. cell. doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.018.