Description of subprojects and results, including major changes from the original proposal
Description of subprojects and results, including major changes from the original proposal
The ACX Grants 2024 award significantly strengthened our capacity for bacteriophage research and development in Nigeria. The funding allowed us to improve our laboratory infrastructure, expand our phage collection, support postgraduate research, and advance several projects from phage isolation toward characterization and potential therapeutic or agricultural applications.
One of the most important infrastructure achievements was the acquisition of an ultracentrifuge. This addressed a major limitation in our laboratory by improving our ability to concentrate and purify bacteriophages locally. Unlike expenditure on individual experiments, this is a long-term investment that will continue to support multiple phage projects, students, and collaborators beyond the grant period.
A major scientific outcome was our work on Salmonella. We isolated and characterized two novel lytic phages, Jerseyvirus ijeoma and Apdecimavirus ayanbimpe, active against Salmonella Typhi. The work progressed to peer-reviewed publication in 2026 in the study “Exploring lytic Salmonella phages as potential alternatives to antibiotics: isolation, characterization, and stability assessment of Jerseyvirus ijeoma and Apdecimavirus ayanbimpe” (Olorundare et al., 2026). The study demonstrated their lytic activity and assessed their stability under different conditions. These phages now provide candidates for the next stage of our work, particularly preclinical evaluation of safety and therapeutic efficacy.
Our work on Pseudomonas aeruginosa also expanded considerably. An MSc research project resulted in the isolation of 34 bacteriophages active against P. aeruginosa, contributing to our growing phage collection. We also completed genomic characterization of the lytic P. aeruginosa phage CSSBELLO(Igwe, Blessing Chidinma, Adesola Olaleka, and Nnaemeka Nnadi. "Isolation and Genomic Characterization of a Novel Lytic Bacteriophage (CSSBELLO) Infecting Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Isolated from Wastewater in Jos." Frontiera Scientia 1.1 (2026): 10-19, which was subsequently reported in a peer-reviewed publication. These studies have strengthened our ability to move from phage isolation through biological characterization to genome-level analysis. This work is also feeding into our research on a phage-based bandage for infected wounds, particularly as a potential delivery approach for difficult-to-treat wound infections.
Another important development was our expansion into phage-based vaccine research. We developed a multi-serotype Salmonella phage-based vaccine construct intended to provide broader protection across different Salmonella serotypes. Candidate components have undergone computational and experimental work, with in vivo evaluation representing the next major stage of development.
The programme also expanded beyond human health into agricultural phage biotechnology. In our Xanthomonas project, five bacterial isolates were obtained, three of which were demonstrated to be pathogenic. We subsequently isolated seven lytic bacteriophages, with three showing activity against all three pathogenic isolates tested. Plaque assays, enrichment and purification have been undertaken, and the strongest candidates provide the basis for developing a phage cocktail for future evaluation against bacterial disease in tomato. This has broadened the programme toward a One Health approach by applying the same phage expertise to both human health and food production.
We have also strengthened our capacity in phage genomics and bioinformatics. An important outcome has been the development of PhageMine, an open-source bioinformatics workflow for bacteriophage genome analysis. This development helps address one of the challenges we encountered as our phage collection expanded: the need to move beyond isolation and phenotypic characterization to systematic genomic analysis of candidate phages.
The grant has additionally supported a wider capacity-building effect. MSc and PhD students have participated in projects involving Salmonella, Pseudomonas, phage-based wound applications, and agricultural phages. The laboratory infrastructure and expertise developed through these activities are therefore supporting a growing group of researchers rather than a single project.
Major changes from the original proposal
The overall objective of building local capacity for phage research and developing phage-based solutions has remained unchanged. However, the programme became broader than originally anticipated. Our initial emphasis was largely on phage isolation, characterization, storage and therapeutic development. During implementation, this expanded to include phage-based vaccines, wound-delivery applications, agricultural biocontrol, genomic analysis, bioinformatics and postgraduate training.
We also refined our approach to clinical translation. Rather than moving directly from promising laboratory results toward clinical trials, we now recognize the importance of a staged pathway involving comprehensive genomic characterization, candidate selection, preclinical safety and efficacy studies, manufacturing and quality control, regulatory engagement and, ultimately, appropriately approved clinical evaluation.
Overall, the ACX Grants 2024 award has produced both immediate research outputs and longer-term research capacity. The acquisition of the ultracentrifuge, expansion of our phage collection, publication of characterized phages, development of new therapeutic and agricultural applications, bioinformatics capacity and training of postgraduate researchers represent outcomes that will continue beyond the grant period.
Our next phase will build on this foundation by advancing the strongest phage candidates into preclinical studies, further developing the Xanthomonas phage cocktail and phage-based bandage, strengthening the phage bank, and pursuing the manufacturing and regulatory capacity required to translate promising phages into practical applications.