Industrial Processes Involving Bacteriophages

The latest White Paper technical bulletin from bacteriophage experts Phage Consultants provides a guide to the roles that phages play in industrial bioprocesses, for both good and ill.

The White Paper ‘Industrial Processes involving Bacteriophages’ is authored by Phage Consultant CEO Prof. Marcin Łoś, who is one of the world’s leading authorities on phage mechanisms and activity.

Risks and Opportunities

Over the source of nine sections, the paper discusses the place of bacteriophages in the biome as viruses that are ‘the sworn enemies of bacteria’ and how they can have profound impacts on bacteria-driven bioprocesses. It also shows how phages can be beneficial, by for example boosting the metabolism of host cells for increased productivity or by acting as biocides against unwanted bacterial contaminants.

The principal sections of the paper include:

• Highly Complex Bacterial Culture-Driven Bioprocesses: Showing that the more complex the process with multiple types of bacteria involved (e.g., water treatment) the less vulnerable it seems to be to phage disruption
• Bioprocesses Driven by Well Defined, Mixed Cultures: Strategies such as immunization and tailored starter cultures to protect nixed culture-driven processes, such as those found in the food and dairy industries
• Monocultures in Industrial Biotechnology: Pharmaceutical Catalysts, Bacterial Biomass, and Green Chemistry: The vulnerability of highly intensive monoculture processes, such as enzyme production, to phage contamination and the importance of rigorous hygiene
• Pharmaceutical Bioprocesses: The problems of changing bacterial strains to more phage resistant ones in pharma production, where process must comply with regulatory requirements
• Phage Growth in Bioprocesses: The high variability in speed of bacteriophage development in bioprocesses and understanding the phage load required to destroy the entire culture
• Prophages in Bioprocesses: The risks and benefits of using native or manipulated prophages in production strains, for instance in increasing resistance to virulent phage strains
• Bacteriophage Contamination Troubleshooting and Prevention: The importance of personnel training, pre-planned troubleshooting procedures, and adequate construction of standard operating procedures
• Bacteriophages as Antibacterials in Bioprocesses: Guide to bioprocesses which may benefit from the use of bacteriophages as antibacterial agents

The White Paper includes more than 30 scientific references for further reading. In summary, it shows that bacteriophages in industrial processes do not necessarily have to be eliminated completely but can also be restrained to tolerable levels through proactive production management.