Phage therapy as a potential approach in the biocontrol of pathogenic bacteria associated with shellfish consumption

Author(s)

Pereira, Carla ^{[1, 2]} ; Costa, Pedro ^{[1, 2]} ; Duarte, Joao ^{[1, 2]} ; Balcao, Victor M. ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Almeida, Adelaide ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Aveiro, Dept Biol, Campus Univ Santiago, P-3810193 Aveiro - Portugal

^[2] Univ Aveiro, CESAM, Campus Univ Santiago, P-3810193 Aveiro - Portugal

^[3] Univ Sorocaba, PhageLab Lab Biofilms & Bacteriophages, BR-18023000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Review article
• Source: International Journal of Food Microbiology; v. 338, JAN 2 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Infectious human diseases acquired from bivalve shellfish consumption constitute a public health threat. These health threats are largely related to the filter-feeding phenomenon, by which bivalve organisms retain and concentrate pathogenic bacteria from their surrounding waters. Even after depuration, bivalve shellfish are still involved in outbreaks caused by pathogenic bacteria, which increases the demand for new and efficient strategies to control transmission of shellfish infection. Bacteriophage (or phage) therapy represents a promising, tailormade approach to control human pathogens in bivalves, but its success depends on a deep understanding of several factors that include the bacterial communities present in the harvesting waters, the appropriate selection of phage particles, the multiplicity of infection that produces the best bacterial inactivation, chemical and physical factors, the emergence of phage-resistant bacterial mutants and the life cycle of bivalves. This review discusses the need to advance phage therapy research for bivalve decontamination, highlighting their efficiency as an antimicrobial strategy and identifying critical aspects to successfully apply this therapy to control human pathogens associated with bivalve consumption. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/05522-9 - PsaPhageKill - isolation, characterisation and use of lytic bacteriophages against Pseudomonas syringae PV. actinidiae to fight the cancer of kiwifruit: an efficient and ecofriendly alternative
• Grantee: Vitor Manuel Cardoso Figueiredo Balcão
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research