Title:
Development of designer host strains for simplified and cost-effective phage production
Agreement Number:
1032654
Agreement Value:
$324,940.00
Agreement Date:
Oct 1, 2025 - Sep 30, 2028
Description:
This project aims to develop engineered hostPseudomonas aeruginosa strains with undesired prophages, phage defense systems, and virulence factors to streamline and enhance phage production. The work will begin with bioinformatic analyses to identify suitable candidate strains, followed by allelic exchange and targeted mutagenesis to remove unwanted elements. The engineered mutants will be evaluated for growth, fitness, and phage susceptibility relative to their parental strains. These optimized strains are expected to improve phage yield, simplify production workflows, reduce the number of required host strains, and prevent contamination from endogenous prophages.
Organization:
National Research Council Canada
Expected Results:
In the short term, anticipated outcomes will be strengthened collaborations across industry, academia, and government to support research excellence. In the medium term, anticipated outcomes will be the development of new and potentially disruptive technologies with collaborators. In the long term, find collaborative solutions to public policy challenges and create stronger innovation systems.
Location:
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA R3T 2N2
Reference Number:
172-2025-2026-Q4-1032654
Report Type:
Grants and Contributions
Recipient Business Number:
119260669
Recipient's Legal Name:
University of Manitoba
Federal Riding Name:
Winnipeg South
Federal Riding Number:
46012
Program:
Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program – Ideation Fund
Program Purpose:
The Ideation Fund is intended to encourage, test and validate transformative research ideas generated by teams of NRC scientific personnel and external collaborators with complementary capabilities, acting as a demonstration phase for a continually-evolving suite of research and development (R&D) deliverables at the NRC. The fund supports exploratory research through two mechanisms: the New Beginnings Initiative and the Small Teams Initiative.
NAICS Code:
541710 - R&D in the physical, engineering and life sciences