Isolation and Characterization of Lytic Bacteriophages from Wastewater and its Application in Pathogen Reduction

Abstract

Present work wasperformedto isolate, enrich and characterizebacteriophageusing basic laboratory set-up, and to demonstrate their lytic potential in pathogen reduction. Following standard microbiological and molecular biological procedures, we examined cultivable bacteria and bacteriophages in wastewater sample. Subsequently, from cultures of wastewater sample, we isolated and characterized bacterial isolate, which was thenusedtoenrichlytic bacteriophages, using a combination of double layer plaque-assay, isolation and genetic techniques to isolate bacteriophage against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Subsequently decontamination capability of this phage was assessed in form of spray and matrix adsorbed formulations.  Storage stability of phagepreparations at different temperatures was also studied by calculating reduction in phage titer. Presentstudies demonstratelytic potential of phageas an eco-friendly alternative to conventional control approachesagainstbacterial contamination.