Phage cocktail strategies for the suppression of a pathogen in a cross‐feeding coculture

Predicting which combinations (cocktails) of bacteria‐infecting viruses (bacteriophage) will suppress pathogenic bacterial growth is complicated, in part, due to the complex ecological interactions of host bacteria, but important for effective treatment. We found that when hosts cross‐feed (exchange nutrients) with nonhost bacterial species, cocktails that include a bacteriophage infecting the nonhost cross‐feeding partner can be more effective at suppressing pathogenic bacteria than targeting the pathogenic bacterium with multiple bacteriophage species. This is a novel cocktail formulation.