Bacteriophage has Important Role in Agriculture and Aquaculture

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. Click here to read the issue.

 

"Although the number of problems associated with bacterial diseases in agriculture and aquiculture 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. Clearly if developed properly, phages can at least in part, help to solve this need," says Martha Clokie, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of PHAGE and Professor of Microbiology, University of Leicester.