Bacteriophages and biotechnology: a review

Abstract

Bacteriophages are viruses whose hosts are bacterial cells. Like all viruses, phages are metabolically inert in their extra-cellular form, reproducing only after infecting suitable host bacteria. Discovered over 80 years ago, they have played a key role in the development of modern biotechnology. Their initial isolation appeared to offer the ®rst therapeutic for the control of infectious disease. The discovery of antibiotics in the 1940s eclipsed bacteriophage-based therapies although, with the increase in multiply drug-resistant pathogens, bacteriophages are being re-evaluated as the basis of new therapeutic strategies. Their de®ned host speci®city facilitated their application in the typing and identi®cation of a wide range of bacteria. Bacteriophage typing schemes were developed for most groups of pathogenic of bacteria and more recently their host speci®city has been applied to the development of bacterial detection and diagnostic strategies. The advance in molecular biology over the past 30 years has been built on the study of phage structure and genetics carried out through the 1950s and 1960s. Restriction endonucleases which form the basis of molecular cloning were developed following studies of phage infection and many phage enzymes provide tools for the molecular biologist. The technique of phage display has more recently provided a powerful technique for the identi®cation and optimisation of ligands for antibodies and other biomolecules. In the environment they have been widely applied as tracers, as indicators of pollution and in the monitoring and validation of biological ®lters. While providing a valuable resource to the development of modern biotechnology, their ability to mobilise and transfer toxin genes in the environment is viewed with concern. They also present a continuing challenge to the fermentation and in particular, the dairy industry, where phage infection can prove commercially disastrous.

Biotechnological Applications of Two Novel Lytic Bacteriophages of Streptococcus mutans in Tooth Decay Bio-Controlling

“…There is a report indicating production of therapeutic vaccine against Streptococcus sobrinus induced caries but not in human (Dinis et al, 2004). The use of bacteriophages for controlling bacterial infectious diseases has its root in exploratory studies of these specific bacterial viruses by Twort in 1915and D'Herelle in 1917(Marks and Sharp, 2000Chanishvili et al, 2001). While emerging of antibiotics in 1930s resulted in a cease of phage therapy, but development of resistant bacterial strains against antibiotics encouraged new studies on applications of phage therapy in controlling several infectious diseases (Drozdova et al, 1988;Chanishvili et al, 2001;Fischetti, 2005).…”

Structure of the receptor-binding carboxy-terminal domain of bacteriophage T7 tail fibers

“…bacterial viruses | caudovirales | crystallography | infection | Podoviridae B acteriophages (bacterial viruses or phages) are important biological model systems and, because of the high specificity for their host bacteria, have found application in phage typing, food security, and phage therapy (1). Escherichia coli phage T7 is a member of the Podoviridae family of the Caudovirales (tailed phages) order (2).…”

Phages as Therapeutic Tools to Control Major Foodborne Pathogens: Campylobacter and Salmonella

“…Phages are highly specific and very effective in lysing the target pathogen, preventing dysbiosis, that is, without disturbing the normal flora and thus reducing the likelihood of super-infection and other complications of normal-flora reduction that can often result following treatment with chemical antibacterials. This high specificity means that diagnosis of the bacteria involved in the infection is required before therapy is employed (Guttman et al, 2005;Marks & Sharp, 2000;Matsuzaki et al, 2009). The specificity of phages also enables their use in the control of pathogenic bacteria in foods since they will not harm useful bacteria, like starter cultures.…”