Scholarlink

<p>Foodborne microbial contamination remains a significant challenge for the food industry, impacting public health and causing economic losses. Bacteriophages have emerged as promising biocontrol agents due to their targeted antimicrobial activity, safety, and, importantly, minimal impact on food sensory attributes. However, their stability under food processing conditions remains a bottleneck for practical application. Here, we isolated three stress-tolerant bacteriophages targeting <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, an emerging foodborne pathogen, using a sequential stress exposure protocol. These phages remained infective at up to 50&#xa0;°C, pH 4–11, and 20% NaCl. The phages were able to reduce the growth of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> by 5 log cycles in an artificially contaminated cheese used as a model food matrix. Whole-genome sequencing of one of the phages was performed to confirm its identity, determine genomic determinants of stress tolerance, and screen for antibiotic-resistance genes, virulence factors, and lysogenization genes, ensuring safety as biocontrol agents. This study demonstrates the potential of stress-tolerant bacteriophages to enhance food safety when used in conjunction with conventional food processing techniques.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Isolation and Characterization of Stress-Tolerant Bacteriophages for Effective Biocontrol of Foodborne Pathogen

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年5月21日

查看全文
  • Atif Khan,
  • Hiren Joshi

摘要

Foodborne microbial contamination remains a significant challenge for the food industry, impacting public health and causing economic losses. Bacteriophages have emerged as promising biocontrol agents due to their targeted antimicrobial activity, safety, and, importantly, minimal impact on food sensory attributes. However, their stability under food processing conditions remains a bottleneck for practical application. Here, we isolated three stress-tolerant bacteriophages targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an emerging foodborne pathogen, using a sequential stress exposure protocol. These phages remained infective at up to 50 °C, pH 4–11, and 20% NaCl. The phages were able to reduce the growth of P. aeruginosa by 5 log cycles in an artificially contaminated cheese used as a model food matrix. Whole-genome sequencing of one of the phages was performed to confirm its identity, determine genomic determinants of stress tolerance, and screen for antibiotic-resistance genes, virulence factors, and lysogenization genes, ensuring safety as biocontrol agents. This study demonstrates the potential of stress-tolerant bacteriophages to enhance food safety when used in conjunction with conventional food processing techniques.