Bacteriophages of lactic acid bacteria and biotechnological tools

Abstract

The study of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) phages has not only brought information about the types and characteristics of lytic phages present in the fermentation industry but, in particular, streptococcal comparative phage genomics has also significantly contributed to the field of phage taxonomy and to the characterization of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system. LAB phages have been isolated from diverse natural sources and upon induction of lysogens. One of the approaches to minimize the negative impact of phages in dairy is on the implementation of technological hurdles to reduce phage contamination. In the context of LAB phages, the TP901‐1 serine integrase can carry out intramolecular integration on a transfected plasmid substrate and intrachromosomal deletions in human cells. LAB phages can also be regarded as a very valuable biocontrol tool to prevent growth of LAB in those biotechnological processes in which LAB are undesirable.