By Phage Consultants
Phage Consultants phage and prophage testing
Phage Consultants (PC) provides one of the world’s most expert testing service to detect phage and prophage presence across a wide spectrum of bacterial hosts, including E. coli and other production bacterial species. PC is even able to perform the tests on strict anaerobes as well as psychrofilic bacteria.
Understanding prophages
A prophage is the ”before” form of a bacteriophage: the preliminary stage of the virus in the form of genome inserted into host DNA before attaining its real form inside the host. Thus a prophage is the genome of a bacteriophage (“phage”) that can exist as an extrachromosomal plasmid or is inserted and integrated into the circular bacterial DNA chromosome. This latent form of a phage will have its viral genes present in the bacterium without causing disruption of the bacterial cell. This latent form makes it even harder to detect.
Prophage induction occurs when the prophage is excised from the bacterial chromosome upon detection of host cell stress or specific conditions, often unique for given prophage. . After induction, viral replication begins via the lytic cycle in which the phage virus commandeers the cell’s reproductive machinery. The cell may fill with new viruses until it lyses or bursts, or it may release the new viruses one at a time in a reverse endocytotic process.
The presence of prophages, due to difficult detection, increases the risk of false negative bacteriophage test results that can have disastrous consequences for biological production facilities, resulting in destruction of the bacterial culture and prolonged contamination of the facility.
Undetected prophages may cause occasional lysis of cultures, preventing formation of the product in given processes, as well as endangering other production processes conducted in the facility.
Prophage testing and detection
The better effectiveness in detection and better performance, which results from individual approach to customer samples.
Also the ability to work on virtually any culturable bacterial specie is an asset here.
Phage Consultants (PC) has the skills and abilities to detect virulent phages and prophages, deriving from specialist knowledge in the founders of the company, Professors Marcin and Joanna Los, who have been involved in study of many aspects of virulent phage development as well as prophage induction in various bacterial strains.
PC can offer more effective detection and better performance in virulent phage and prophage detection, resulting from individual approach to customer samples, along with abilities to work on virtually any culturable bacterial specie.
When combined with follow-up information on possible solutions, the result is a one-stop shop for prophage testing, detection, removal and inactivation as part of a wider portfolio of phage contamination prevention and eradication services that are highly useful for fermentation managers, fermentation operators, medium-level production and high-level facility management.
Resources
Click on Phage infections of bioprocesses for academic study.