The application and research progress of bacteriophages in food safety

Wang, Zhihui; Zhao, Xihong

doi:10.1111/jam.15555

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, in the absence of experimental data, including this feature would have increased the model’s complexity without providing any real benefit to the present study. However, the increasing application of phages for eco-restoration ( 57 ), food safety ( 58 , 59 ), and sterilization of surfaces ( 60 – 64 ) implies that phage-derived antibacterial treatments need to work even in the absence of a complementary immune response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of phage load and administration time in simulated occurrences of antibacterial treatments

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of phages as antibacterials is becoming more and more common in Western countries. However, a successful phage-derived antibacterial treatment needs to account for additional features such as the loss of infective virions and the multiplication of the hosts. The parameters critical inoculation size (VF) and failure threshold time (TF) have been introduced to assure that the viral dose (Vϕ) and administration time (Tϕ) would lead to the extinction of the targeted bacteria. The problem with the definition of VF and TF is that they are non-linear equations with two unknowns; thus, obtaining their explicit values is cumbersome and not unique. The current study used machine learning to determine VF and TF for an effective antibacterial treatment. Within these ranges, a Pareto optimal solution of a multi-criterial optimization problem (MCOP) provided a pair of Vϕ and Tϕ to facilitate the user’s work. The algorithm was tested on a series of in silico microbial consortia that described the outgrowth of a species at high cell density by another species initially present at low concentration. The results demonstrated that the MCOP-derived pairs of Vϕ and Tϕ could effectively wipe out the bacterial target within the context of the simulation. The present study also introduced the concept of mediated phage therapy, where targeting booster bacteria might decrease the virulence of a pathogen immune to phagial infection and highlighted the importance of microbial competition in attaining a successful antibacterial treatment. In summary, the present work developed a novel method for investigating phage/bacteria interactions that can help increase the effectiveness of the application of phages as antibacterials and ease the work of microbiologists.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of phage load and administration time in simulated occurrences of antibacterial treatments

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The utilization of phages may also assist in the discrimination between dead and living or viable but non-culturable bacteria [ 141 ]. Indeed, a variety of methods have been developed on the basis of the interactions between phages and host cells [ 142 ]. Detection of these interactions is usually achieved through genetic modification of the phage to overexpress β-galactosidase, alkaline phosphatase or the lux gene, coupled with subsequent colorimetric detection, in solid or liquid media [ 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 ].…”

Section: Cellular Components As Molecular Targetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Targets for Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria Detection

Paramithiotis

2023

Pathogens

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The detection of foodborne pathogenic bacteria currently relies on their ability to grow on chemically defined liquid and solid media, which is the essence of the classical microbiological approach. Such procedures are time-consuming and the quality of the result is affected by the selectivity of the media employed. Several alternative strategies based on the detection of molecular markers have been proposed. These markers may be cell constituents, may reside on the cell envelope or may be specific metabolites. Each marker provides specific advantages and, at the same time, suffers from specific limitations. The food matrix and chemical composition, as well as the accompanying microbiota, may also severely compromise detection. The aim of the present review article is to present and critically discuss all available information regarding the molecular targets that have been employed as markers for the detection of foodborne pathogens. Their strengths and limitations, as well as the proposed alleviation strategies, are presented, with particular emphasis on their applicability in real food systems and the challenges that are yet to be effectively addressed.

show abstract

“…The use of phages in health has taken on renewed interest due to their potential use as natural antibiotics to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria [reviewed in 2 , 3 ]. In addition, phages are being used in food science and environmental applications to target pathogenic strains [reviewed in: 4 , 5 ]. Although the ability of a phage to lyse their target bacterial host is essential to their utility in all of these applications, the study of phage lysis is limited to very few bacterial hosts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinformatic characterization of endolysins and holin-like membrane proteins in the lysis cassette of phages that infect Gordonia rubripertincta

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Holins are bacteriophage-encoded transmembrane proteins that function to control the timing of bacterial lysis event, assist with the destabilization of the membrane proton motive force and in some models, generate large “pores” in the cell membrane to allow the exit of the phage-encoded endolysin so they can access the peptidoglycan components of the cell wall. The lysis mechanism has been rigorously evaluated through biochemical and genetic studies in very few phages, and the results indicate that phages utilize endolysins, holins and accessory proteins to the outer membrane to achieve cell lysis through several distinct operational models. This observation suggests the possibility that phages may evolve novel variations of how the lysis proteins functionally interact in an effort to improve fitness or evade host defenses. To begin to address this hypothesis, the current study utilized a comprehensive bioinformatic approach to systematically identify the proteins encoded by the genes within the lysis cassettes in 16 genetically diverse phages that infect the Gram-positive Gordonia rubripertincta NRLL B-16540 strain. The results show that there is a high level of diversity of the various lysis genes and 16 different genome organizations of the putative lysis cassette, many which have never been described. Thirty-four different genes encoding holin-like proteins were identified as well as a potential holin-major capsid fusion protein. The holin-like proteins contained between 1–4 transmembrane helices, were not shared to a high degree amongst the different phages and are present in the lysis cassette in a wide range of combinations of up to 4 genes in which none are duplicated. Detailed evaluation of the transmembrane domains and predicted membrane topologies of the holin-like proteins show that many have novel structures that have not been previously characterized. These results provide compelling support that there are novel operational lysis models yet to be discovered.

show abstract

The application and research progress of bacteriophages in food safety

Cited by 17 publications

References 62 publications

Determination of phage load and administration time in simulated occurrences of antibacterial treatments

Determination of phage load and administration time in simulated occurrences of antibacterial treatments

Molecular Targets for Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria Detection

Bioinformatic characterization of endolysins and holin-like membrane proteins in the lysis cassette of phages that infect Gordonia rubripertincta

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About