Crop plants and animals can be infected by bacterial pathogens that reduce yield, cause food wastage and carry human pathogens that spread disease on consumption. Bacteriophage can play an important role in microbial control, according to a new special issue on agriculture and aquaculture published in the peer-reviewed journal PHAGE: Therapy, Applications and Research.
“Although the number of problems associated with bacterial diseases in agriculture and aquaculture has increased, food producers are under pressure to reduce their reliance on antibiotics. There is therefore a clear need for effective antimicrobials to prevent and treat infections in food animals, to both reduce food waste and prevent human infection. If developed properly, phages can at least in part, help to solve this need,” said Martha Clokie, editor-in-chief of PHAGE and Professor of Microbiology, University of Leicester.
The special issue features valuable articles on a broad range of topics. These include the following:
- inPhocus: A local perspective on phage-based biocontrol in agriculture and aquaculture in India
- The application of bacteriophage diagnostics for bacterial pathogens in the agricultural supply chain: From farm-to-fork
- Bacteriophages as biocontrol agents for Flavobacterium psychrophilum biofilms and rainbow trout infections
- Effectiveness of bacteriophages against biofilm-forming shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli on leafy greens and cucumbers
- Effect of phage targeting therapy of brucellosis on host antibody response in cattle
- A rare, virulent Clostridium perfringens bacteriophage Susfortuna is the first isolated bacteriophage in a new viral genus
Read the special issue here.
