Genome Sequences of 14 Siphophages That Infect Serratia marcescens

Hydrological tracers, commonly used for characterizing water flow paths and sources, do not often meet all the requirements of an ideal tracer. Trans-disciplinary approaches are advocated as the way forward to enlarge the number of tracers available for investigating hydrological processes. Since the 19th century, hydrological tracers have been increasingly used, particularly in underground areas. The tracer toolbox at hand includes a large variety of options, including fluorescent dyes, isotopes, salts or bacteriophages, with each tracer offering specific qualities and complementarities. While their potential for hydrological studies has been studied in karstic environments since the 1960s, bacteriophages remain insufficiently understood. According to the selection methodology used in this review, more than thirty experiments have been listed, involving in total around seventeen different bacteriophages. These have facilitated the investigation of groundwater, surface water (i.e., river, lake and marine water), wetland and wastewater hydrological processes. The tracing experiments have also highlighted the possible interaction between bacteriophages and the surrounding environments. Bacteriophages have successfully helped researchers to understand the water flow within watersheds. Certain advantages, such as the sensitivity of detection, the ease of producing high concentrations of bacteriophages to be injected, their specificity for a host and their non-pathogenicity for human and animal cells, make bacteriophages appreciable tracer candidates for tracing experiments. However, the adsorption process or environmental factors such as temperature, pH and UV light considerably impact the fate of bacteriophages, thereby leading to an attenuation of the phage signal. Considering both the flaws and the qualities of bacteriophages, their use as hydrological tracers requires new insight and further discussions regarding experimental tracing conditions.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

hi@scite.ai

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Genome Sequences of 14 Siphophages That Infect Serratia marcescens

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

The small genome, virulent, non-contractile tailed bacteriophages that infect Enterobacteriales hosts

The small genome, virulent, non-contractile tailed bacteriophages that infect Enterobacteriales hosts

A Virological Perspective on the Use of Bacteriophages as Hydrological Tracers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About