Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40251446›Full record

ArticleNature microbiology2025

Phollow reveals in situ phage transmission dynamics in the zebrafish gut microbiome at single-virion resolution.

Lizett Ortiz de Ora, Elizabeth T Wiles, Mirjam Zünd, Maria S Bañuelos, Nancy Haro-Ramirez, Diana S Suder, Naveena Ujagar, Julio Ayala-Angulo, Calvin Trinh, Courtney Knitter and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Geometric ordering in bacterial communities.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Gut virome dynamics: from commensal to critical player in health and disease.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2026
    Review
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Lizett Ortiz de OraDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Elizabeth T WilesDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Mirjam ZündDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Maria S BañuelosDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Nancy Haro-RamirezDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Diana S SuderDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6226-8390
Naveena UjagarDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Julio Ayala-AnguloDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Calvin TrinhDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Courtney KnitterDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Shane GonenDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Dequina A NicholasDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Travis J WilesDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA. travis.wiles@uci.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5336-7565

Funding

Connecting the Spatiotemporal Organization of Gut Bacterial Communities to the Emergence and Spread of Antibiotic ResistanceDP2AI154420 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI WILES, TRAVIS J · 2021 to 2025
$2.3M
Breaking barriers in CryoEM through computational protein designR35GM142797 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI GONEN, SHANE · 2021 to 2025
$1.9M
Elucidation of Host and Bacterial Factors that Influence Resilience and RobustnesF32AI112094 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF OREGON · PI WILES, TRAVIS J · 2014 to 2016
$164k
NIAID NIH HHS DP2 AI154420NIAID NIH HHS F32 AI112094NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM142797Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) P500PB_214357U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) DP2AI154420
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bacteriophages show promise for microbiome engineering, but studying their transmission dynamics in multimember communities and animal hosts is technically challenging. We therefore created 'Phollow', a live imaging-based approach for tracking phage replication and spread in situ with single-virion resolution. Following interbacterial phage transmission is achieved by marking virions with distinct fluorescent proteins during assembly in newly infected cells. In vitro cell virology studies revealed clouds of phage virions dispersing upon bacterial lysis, leading to rampant transmission. Combining Phollow with optically transparent zebrafish, we visualized phage outbreaks within the vertebrate gut. We observed that virions from a zebrafish-derived Plesiomonas strain, but not a human-derived E. coli, rapidly disseminate systemically to the liver and brain. Moreover, antibiotics triggered waves of interbacterial transmission and sudden shifts in gut community ecology. Phollow ultimately empowers multiscale investigations of phage transmission and transkingdom interactions that have the potential to open new avenues for phage-based microbiome therapies.

Indexed as

BacteriophagesGastrointestinal MicrobiomeVirionZebrafishAnimalsBrainEscherichia coliHumans

Identifiers

PMID40251446
PMCPMC12055606

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.