The invention relates to methods, kits, and compositions for reducing the level of or eliminating a nucleic acid vector in situ. The invention encompasses compositions and methods for selectively eradicating nucleic acid vectors in the microbiota using packaged phagemids. The microbiota can be intestinal and the packaged phagemids can be administered orally. The phagemid encodes a nuclease or other enzyme that genetically modifies the nucleic acid vector so that the nucleic acid vector can be inactivated or eliminated.

The present invention concerns a production bacterial cell for producing phage particles or phage-derived delivery vehicles, said production bacterial cell stably comprising at least one phage structural gene(s) and at least one phage DNA packaging gene(s), said phage structural gene(s) and phage DNA packaging gene(s) being derived from a first type of bacteriophage, wherein the expression of at least one of said phage structural gene(s) and/or at least one of said phage DNA packaging gene(s) in said production bacterial cell is controlled by at least one induction mechanism, and wherein said production bacterial cell is from a bacterial species or strain different from the bacterial species or strain from which said first type of bacteriophage comes and/or that said first type of bacteriophage targets.

The present invention concerns a production bacterial cell for producing lytic phage particles or lytic phage-derived delivery vehicles, said production bacterial cell stably comprising at least one phage structural genes and at least one phage DNA packaging genes, said phage structural gene(s) and phage DNA packaging gene(s) being derived from a lytic bacteriophage, wherein the expression of at least one of said phage structural genes and/or at least one of said phage DNA packaging gene(s) in said production bacterial cell is controlled by an induction mechanism.

The present invention concerns a production bacterial cell for producing lytic phage particles or lytic phage-derived delivery vehicles, said production bacterial cell stably comprising at least one phage structural genes and at least one phage DNA packaging genes, said phage structural gene(s) and phage DNA packaging gene(s) being derived from a lytic bacteriophage, wherein the expression of at least one of said phage structural genes and/or at least one of said phage DNA packaging gene(s) in said production bacterial cell is controlled by an induction mechanism.

The invention relates to the production of phage and non-replicative transduction particles using DNAs (eg, plasmids and helper phage, mobile genetic elements (MGEs) or plasmids with chromosomally integrated helper phage genes), as well as the phage, helper phage, kits, compositions and methods involving these. The non-replicative transduction particles can be used to deliver antibacterial agents comprising a guided nuclease system.

The present invention concerns a production bacterial cell for producing phage particles or phage-derived delivery vehicles, said production bacterial cell stably comprising at least one phage structural gene(s) and at least one phage DNA packaging gene(s), said phage structural gene(s) and phage DNA packaging gene(s) being derived from a first type of bacteriophage,

wherein the expression of at least one of said phage structural gene(s) and/or at least one of said phage DNA packaging gene(s) in said production bacterial cell is controlled by at least one induction mechanism, and

wherein said production bacterial cell is from a bacterial species or strain different from the bacterial species or strain from which said first type of bacteriophage comes and/or that said first type of bacteriophage targets.

Cancer eradicating engineered bacteriophage are described that can display a high copy number of a targeting polypeptide that can bind a surface antigen of a cancer cell. The bacteriophage can also display a high copy number of a cancer therapy, one or more of a drug, a toxin, an inhibitor, a radionuclide, etc. The targeting polypeptides and the cancer therapies can be directly or indirectly fused to coat proteins of the phage. The engineered phage can exhibit high avidity for cancer cells and can deliver a large dose of a cancer therapy per particle to the cell.

The present invention concerns a production bacterial cell for producing phage particles or phage-derived delivery vehicles, said production bacterial cell stably comprising at least one phage structural gene(s) and at least one phage DNA packaging gene(s), said phage structural gene(s) and phage DNA packaging gene(s) being derived from a first type of bacteriophage, wherein the expression of at least one of said phage structural gene(s) and/or at least one of said phage DNA packaging gene(s) in said production bacterial cell is controlled by at least one induction mechanism, and wherein said production bacterial cell is from a bacterial species or strain different from the bacterial species or strain from which said first type of bacteriophage comes and/or that said first type of bacteriophage targets.

Disclosed herein are methods, compositions, kits, and systems for rapid detection of a microorganism of interest on a surface, including medical devices. Cocktail compositions of recombinant bacteriophages can be used to detect potentially harmful bacteria. The specificity of recombinant bacteriophages for binding microorganisms allows targeted and highly specific detection of a microorganism of interest.

Engineered bacteriophage and methods of forming the bacteriophage are described. Multivalent bacteriophage are described that can include multiple different exogenous polypeptides that include specific binding agents for proteinaceous targets at a surface of the capsid head. Therapeutic compositions, e.g., antiviral compositions, and methods of forming are described. A therapeutic composition can include an engineered bacteriophage that includes a polypeptide binds a pathogen or binds a cellular receptor of a pathogen at a surface of the bacteriophage. The engineered bacteriophage are free of nucleic acids encoding the exogenous polypeptide(s).