**Meet the editor**

Dr Kurtböke has been in the field of Biodiscovery associated with bioactive actinomycetes since 1982. Her most significant contribution has been a novel isolation technique that selectively cultures industrially important rare actinomycetes using bacteriophages. Her expertise in microbial culture collections and their sustainable use for biotechnology links her to World Federation

for Culture Collections where she is currently the Vice-President. She has also worked with bacteriophages since 1986 with particular reference to their use as tools in drug discovery. Since joining the USC in 2001, she has developed undergraduate and post-graduate programs in applied microbiology and biotechnology, and continued research in environmental, biomedical, agricultural and food microbiology where she uses bacteriophages extensively with links to eminent pharmaceutical and agrobiological companies.

Contents

**Preface IX** 

E.V. Orlova

Philip Serwer

Chapter 4 **Bacteriophages as Surrogates** 

Chapter 5 **Bacteriophages in Dairy Industry:** 

Toshirou Nagai

Chapter 2 **Some Reflections on the Origin** 

**Part 1 Biology and Classification of Bacteriophages 1** 

Chapter 1 **Bacteriophages and Their Structural Organisation 3** 

Luis Kameyama, Eva Martínez-Peñafiel, Omar Sepúlveda-Robles,

**of Lambdoid Bacteriophages 31** 

Chapter 3 **Gels for the Propagation of Bacteriophages** 

**Assembly Intermediates 39** 

Zaira Y. Flores-López, Leonor Fernández,

Francisco Martínez-Pérez and Rosa Ma. Bermúdez

**and the Characterization of Bacteriophage** 

**Part 2 Bacteriophages as Contaminants and Indicator 55** 

Maria M.F. Mesquita and Monica B. Emelko

**PCR Methods as Valuable Tools 81** 

Chapter 6 **Bacteriophages of** *Bacillus subtilis* **(***natto***)** 

**for the Fate and Transport of Pathogens in Source Water and in Drinking Water Treatment Processes 57** 

Beatriz del Río, María Cruz Martín, Víctor Ladero, Noelia Martínez,

Daniel M. Linares, María Fernández and Miguel A. Alvarez

**and Their Contamination in Natto Factories 95** 

**Part 3 Bacteriopgahes as Tools and Biological Control Agents 111** 

## Contents

#### **Preface XI**


#### **Part 2 Bacteriophages as Contaminants and Indicator 55**

	- **Part 3 Bacteriopgahes as Tools and Biological Control Agents 111**

## Preface

Therapeutic use of bacteriophages for the prevention and treatment of bacterial diseases has been pursued since the discovery of phages in 1917 by d'Herelle. Following the advancement of biomedical research, phages have gained further importance in biomedicine and examples include the use of polysaccharide-specific phages to treat encapsulated pathogenic bacteria forming biofilms on medical devices. Genetic engineering of bacteriophages to produce cell death without lysis, hence avoiding the release of unwanted endotoxins during control of pathogenic bacteria, has also been in progress. Due to increasing antibiotic resistance, phage-derived lytic enzymes are also being exploited to control infectious bacteria. In antibiotic resistant Gram-positive bacteria, even small quantities of purified recombinant lysin added externally have been reported to lead to immediate lysis of the pathogenic cell wall making them ideal anti-infectives due to lysin specificity against the pathogens.

Improved understanding of bacteriophage injectory mechanisms also contributes to our knowledge of bacterial secretion mechanisms, particularly the ones in Type VI secretion systems (T6SS), which seem to use the same mechanism as bacteriophages to inject their DNA into bacterial cell. Moreover, advancements in prophage genomics improve the understanding of phage-bacterium interaction at the genetic level revealing prophage gene derived-virulence factors and their contribution to fitness increase of the pathogenic bacteria.

Targeting host bacterial functional diversity, in which certain metabolic activities might be triggered in a defined ecosystem following phage-mediated gene transfer might also offer clues for host biosynthetic activities. As a result, an evaluation of the role of host-phage interactions in antibiotic production as well as in rendering antibiotics ineffective via lysogenation or prophage exertion will further complement therapeutic success.

Bacteriophages are also utilized as successful biocontrol agents in agriculture as well as surrogates and tracers of the fate and transport of pathogens in source water and drinking water treatment processes. However, they can also result in significant economic losses as contaminants of dairy and natto factories, therefore their detection with the aid of effective methods and removal of extreme importance for the industry. *Bacteriophages* is therefore intended to serve as a reference book covering both

#### XII Preface

background information as well as current advancements in the field including the use of molecular techniques for early detection of bacteriophage contamination in industrial operations.

I thank all contributing Authors who have generously given their time and expertise to make *Bacteriophages* a key collection and their timely meeting of the deadlines has been greatly appreciated. I also thank Hans-Wolfgang Ackermann (Canada), Stephen Abedon (USA), Nina Chanishvili (Georgia) and Ian Macreadie (Australia) for their invaluable contribution to the peer review process. Technical assistance provided by Intech Editorial Office during the production of the book is also gratefully acknowledged.

> **Ipek Kurtböke**  University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
