Bacteriophage - Other Areas of Use

Other Areas of Use

Since 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and USDA have approved several bacteriophage products. Intralytix introduced LMP-102, also called ListShield as a food additive to target and kill Listeria monocytogenes. LMP-102 (ListShield by Intralytix) was approved for treating ready-to-eat (RTE) poultry and meat products. In that same year, the FDA approved LISTEX by MICREOS (formerly EBI) using bacteriophages on cheese to kill the L. monocytogenes bacteria, giving them generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status. In July 2007, the same bacteriophage were approved for use on all food products. In 2011 USDA confirmed that LISTEX is a clean label processing-aid and is included in USDA. Research in the field of food safety is continuing to see if lytic phages are a viable option to control other food-borne pathogens in various food products.

Government agencies in the West have for several years been looking to Georgia and the former Soviet Union for help with exploiting phages for counteracting bioweapons and toxins, such as anthrax and botulism. Developments are continuing among research groups in the US. Other uses include spray application in horticulture for protecting plants and vegetable produce from decay and the spread of bacterial disease. Other applications for bacteriophages are as biocides for environmental surfaces, e.g., in hospitals, and as preventative treatments for catheters and medical devices prior to use in clinical settings. The technology for phages to be applied to dry surfaces, e.g., uniforms, curtains, or even sutures for surgery now exists. Clinical trials reported in the Lancet show success in veterinary treatment of pet dogs with otitis.

Phage display is a different use of phages involving a library of phages with a variable peptide linked to a surface protein. Each phage's genome encodes the variant of the protein displayed on its surface (hence the name), providing a link between the peptide variant and its encoding gene. Variant phages from the library can be selected through their binding affinity to an immobilized molecule (e.g., botulism toxin) to neutralize it. The bound, selected phages can be multiplied by reinfecting a susceptible bacterial strain, thus allowing them to retrieve the peptides encoded in them for further study.

The SEPTIC bacterium sensing and identification method uses the ion emission and its dynamics during phage infection and offers high specificity and speed for detection.

Phage-ligand technology makes use of proteins, which are identified from bacteriophages, characterized and recombinantly expressed for various applications such as binding of bacteria and bacterial components (e.g. endotoxin) and lysis of bacteria.