Phages

Here, we present the complete genome sequence of Enterobacter phage vB_EcRAM-01, isolated from waters of the Río Abajo river, in Panama City, Panama. This phage has deployed lytic activity against the Enterobacter cloacae complex, a pathogen of clinical importance in intensive care units. It belongs to the Myoviridae family and has a double-stranded DNA genome that is 178,477 bp long and contains 293 open reading frames (ORFs).

Mycobacterium avium causes disseminated infection in patients with acquired immune deficieny syndrome. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogen associated with the deaths of millions of people worldwide annually. Effective therapeutic regimens exist that are limited by the emergence of drug resistance and the inability of antibiotics to kill dormant organisms. The present study describes a system using Mycobacterium smegmatis, an avirulent mycobacterium, to deliver the lytic phage TM4 where both M. avium and M. tuberculosis reside within macrophages. These results showed that treatment of M. avium–infected, as well as M. tuberculosis–infected, RAW 264.7 macrophages, with M. smegmatis transiently infected with TM4, resulted in a significant time- and titer-dependent reduction in the number of viable intracellular bacilli. In addition, the M. smegmatis vacuole harboring TM4 fuses with the M. avium vacuole in macrophages. These results suggest a potentially novel concept to kill intracellular
pathogenic bacteria and warrant future development.

Dès 1917, dans l'article où il décrit ses premières observations et propose le nom de bactériophage, Félix d'Hérelle rapporte une première utilisation de ces virus pour traiter des infections bactériennes, donnant ainsi naissance à la pha-gothérapie. Le développement de cette application a montré qu'il était possible de mettre en place des traitements ciblant spécifiquement les bactéries, tels que ceux basés sur l'utilisation d'antibiotiques. Ces derniers, de par leur très grande effica-cité et simplicité d'utilisation, ont provoqué le quasi-abandon de la phagothérapie. Aujourd'hui, un nombre croissant de bactéries pathogènes pour l'homme présente des phénotypes de résistance à plusieurs familles d'antibiotiques. Les infections causées par ces bactéries imposent l'utilisation de molécules au spectre d'activité toujours plus large et placent certains patients en situation d'impasse thérapeu-tique. Cet état de fait a relancé les recherches pour permettre le déploiement de la phagothérapie afin de traiter des patients mais aussi des animaux et des plantes. En fait, les domaines d'applications thérapeutiques des bactériophages s'élargissent au fur et à mesure que les agents antibactériens de nature chimique sont remis en cause, voire interdits. Cette revue revient sur les principes fondamentaux des applications thérapeutiques des bactériophages et expose les données récentes dans les domaines pour lesquels une exploitation commerciale est en cours ou sur le point d'émerger.

Abstract. In the 1917 article in which Félix d'Hérelle describes his first observations and proposes the name of bacteriophage, he also reports the first use of these viruses to treat bacterial infections, thus giving birth to phage therapy. Soon after antibiotics supplanted bacteriophages. Today, bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics become a growing public health issue worldwide. This situation has revived research aiming at developing the antibacterial activity of bacteriophages to treat patients as well as diseases in animals and plants. In fact, the areas of applications of bacteriophages as antibacterial are widening as current solutions of chemical nature are questioned. This review summarizes the basic principles of therapeutic applications of bacteriophages and presents recent data in areas where commercial exploitation is occurring or about to emerge.

Phages are considered the most abundant and diverse biological entities on Earth and are notable not only for their sheer abundance, but also for their influence on bacterial hosts. In nature, bacteria–phage relationships are complex and have far-reaching consequences beyond particular pairwise interactions, influencing everything from bacterial virulence to eukaryotic fitness to the carbon cycle. In this review, we examine bacteria and phage distributions in nature first by highlighting biogeographic patterns and nonhost environmental influences on phage distribution, then by considering the ways in which phages and bacteria interact, emphasizing phage life cycles, bacterial responses to phage infection, and the complex patterns of phage host specificity. Finally, we discuss phage impacts on bacterial abundance, genetics, and physiology, and further aim to clarify distinctions between current theoretical models and point out areas in need of future research.

Since the 1990s, results coming in from molecular phylogenetics necessitate
us to recognize that Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) occurs massively across all three
domains of life. Nonetheless, many of the mechanisms whereby genes can become
transferred laterally have been known from the early twentieth century onward. The
temporal discrepancy between the first historical observations of the processes, and
the rather recent general acceptance of the documented data, poses an interesting epistemological
conundrum: Why have incoming results on HGT been widely neglected
by the general evolutionary community and what causes for a more favorable reception
today? Five reasons are given: (1) HGT was first observed in the biomedical sciences
and these sciences did not endorse an evolutionary epistemic stance because of
the ontogeny/phylogeny divide adhered to by the founders of the Modern Synthesis.
(2) Those who did entertain an evolutionary outlook associated research on HGT with
a symbiotic epistemic framework. (3) That HGT occurs across all three domains of
life was demonstrated by modern techniques developed in molecular biology, a field
that itself awaits full integration into the general evolutionary synthesis. (4) Molecular
phylogenetic studies of prokaryote evolution were originally associated with exobiology
and abiogenesis, and both fields developed outside the framework provided by the
Modern Synthesis. (5) Because HGT brings forth a pattern of reticulation, it contrasts
the standard idea that evolution occurs solely by natural selection that brings forth
a vertical, bifurcating pattern in the “tree” of life. Divided into two parts, this chapter
first reviews current neo-Darwinian “tree of life” versus reticulate “web of life”
polemics as they have been debated in high-profile academic journals, and secondly,
the historical context of discovery of the various means whereby genes are transferred
laterally is sketched. Along the way, the reader is introduced to how HGT contradicts
some of the basic tenets of the neo-Darwinian paradigm.

Les bactériophages tiennent une place prépondérante dans le monde vivant. Du point de vue épistémologique, ils participent à la compréhension du vivant via trois aspects fondamentaux : (i) les mécanismes moléculaires les plus intimes du fonctionnement des infections virales et de celui des cellules elles-mêmes (biologie moléculaire) ; (ii) le fonctionnement des écosystèmes (écologie) ; et (iii) la dynamique adaptative des populations virales et bactériennes (évolution). À travers une présentation historique de la découverte des bactériophages et de leurs fascinantes propriétés, cette revue relate la genèse des découvertes fondamentales associées à l’étude des bactériophages et présente une vision synthétique des champs de recherche actuels.

Phage therapy, the use of bacteriophage viruses to treat bacterial infections, has existed for more than a hundred years. However, the practice is struggling to develop, despite growing support over the past 15 years from researchers and doctors, who see it as a promising therapy in the context of the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While the reasons for these developmental difficulties are complex, in this article we wish to address the effects of pharmaceutical regulations on phage therapy. By showing how phages are assimilated to an umpteenth antibiotic in legal texts, but also in certain medical practices, this article proposes to analyze the consequences of such regulatory categorization both for their production and the logistics of administration of proof of their efficacy in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), as well as the underlying concepts of infection and treatment. This paper follows Chandler’s work on the concept of antibiotics as infrastructure and its inversion presented by antimicrobial resistance. Phages as living, dynamic, evolving, and specific entities, do not lend themselves easily to current categories, norms, and development models. In this sense, they act as disruptors, revealing the limitations imposed by the existing infrastructure. More precisely here, and to continue Chandler’s initial thought process, this paper aims to show that antibiotics also form a kind of epistemological infrastructure, which acts as a powerful inhibitor to the development of phage therapy. In this sense antibiotics prevent the development of solutions to the problem they contribute to create. But the difficulties phage therapy faces, as highlighted in this article, can be interpreted as entry points for thinking of another medicine and imagining other possible futures. This analysis is based on a 3-year fieldwork study (2016–2019) in Europe (France, Belgium, and Switzerland), during which we conducted semi-directed interviews with various phage therapy stakeholders (physicians, researchers, pharmacists, regulators, patients, and patient associations), participatory observation in labs and observations during symposia and workshops on phages and phage therapy.

Bacteriophages are considered to be the most abundant biological entities on the planet. The Siphoviridae are the most commonly
encountered tailed phages and contain double-stranded DNA with an average genome size of
50 kb. This paper describes
the isolation from four different activated sludge plants of the phage RRH1, which is polyvalent, lysing five Rhodococcus
species. It has a capsid diameter of only
43 nm. Whole-genome sequencing of RRH1 revealed a novel circularly permuted DNA
sequence (14,270 bp) carrying 20 putative open reading frames. The genome has a modular arrangement, as reported for those of
most Siphoviridae phages, but appears to encode only structural proteins and carry a single lysis gene. All genes are transcribed
in the same direction. RRH1 has the smallest genome yet of any described functional Siphoviridae phage. We demonstrate that
lytic phage can be recovered from transforming naked DNA into its host bacterium, thus making it a potentially useful model for
studying gene function in phages.

Foodborne salmonellosis is a global threat to public health. In the current study, we describe the isolation and characterization of two broad-spectrum, lytic Salmonella phages: SPHG1 and SPHG3 infecting a multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium EG.SmT3. Electron microscopy and whole genome analysis identified SPHG1 as a Myovirus, while SPHG3 as a new member of the genus “Kuttervirus” within the family Ackermannviridae. SPHG1 and SPHG3 had a lysis time of 60 min. with burst sizes of 104 and 138 PFU/cell, respectively. The two phages were robust at variable temperatures and pH ranges that match the corresponding values of most of the food storage and processing conditions. A phage cocktail containing the two phages was stable in the tested food articles for up to 48 h. The application of the phage cocktail at MOIs of 1000 or 100 resulted in a significant reduction in the viable count of S. Typhimurium by 4.2 log10/sample in milk, water, and on chicken breast. Additionally, the pha...

Type II CRISPR-Cas systems defend prokaryotes from bacteriophage infection through the acquisition of short viral DNA sequences known as spacers, which are transcribed into short RNA guides to specify the targets of the Cas9 nuclease. To counter the potentially devastating propagation of escaper phages with mutations in the target sequences, the host population acquires many different spacers. Whether and how pre-existing spacers in type II systems affect the acquisition of new ones is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that previously acquired spacers promote additional spacer acquisition from the vicinity of the target DNA site cleaved by Cas9. Therefore, CRISPR immune cells acquire additional spacers at the same time as they destroy the infecting virus. This anticipates the rise of escapers or related viruses that could escape targeting by the first spacer acquired. Our results thus reveal Cas9's role in the generation of immunological memories.

Foodborne salmonellosis is a global threat to public health. In the current study, we describe the isolation and characterization of two broad-spectrum, lytic Salmonella phages: SPHG1 and SPHG3 infecting a multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium EG.SmT3. Electron micros-copy and whole genome analysis identified SPHG1 as a Myovirus, while SPHG3 as a new member of the genus "Kuttervirus" within the family Ackermannviridae. SPHG1 and SPHG3 had a lysis time of 60 min. with burst sizes of 104 and 138 PFU/cell, respectively. The two phages were robust at variable temperatures and pH ranges that match the corresponding values of most of the food storage and processing conditions. A phage cocktail containing the two phages was stable in the tested food articles for up to 48 h. The application of the phage cocktail at MOIs of 1000 or 100 resulted in a significant reduction in the viable count of S. Typhimurium by 4.2 log10/sample in milk, water, and on chicken breast. Additional...

Devant l’injonction à « vivre avec le virus », on peut s’interroger sur les modalités de cette cohabitation nouvelle. L’anthropologue Charlotte Brives propose ici la boussole de la pluribiose, d’un vivant affecté par ses relations et ses rencontres, afin d’inventer des politiques alternatives pour « devenir avec » plutôt que de s’obstiner à « vivre malgré ».

Many bacteria and archaea have the unique ability to heritably alter their genomes by incorporating small fragments of foreign DNA, called spacers, into CRISPR loci. Once transcribed and processed into individual CRISPR RNAs, spacer sequences guide Cas effector nucleases to destroy complementary, invading nucleic acids. Collectively, these two processes are known as the CRISPR-Cas immune response. In this Progress article, we review recent studies that have advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying spacer acquisition and that have revealed a fundamental link between the two phases of CRISPR immunity that ensures optimal immunity from newly acquired spacers. Finally, we highlight important open questions and discuss the potential basic and applied impact of spacer acquisition research.

The author analyzes the COVID-19 pandemic as a multidimensional phenomenon, including, apart from medical aspects, also those resulting from the evolution of civilization. Author discusses the barriers that are obstacles to the overall understanding of the COViD-19 phenomenon and that prevent consolidation of efforts to counteract it. The side effects of the industrial era regarding disturbances in the functioning of the ecosystem, of which humans are part and their impact on the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed in more detail. The mistakes and omissions of our civilization that could have prevented a pandemic or significantly reduced its consequences are also discussed. The negative information conveyed by the publication is that the already launched avalanche of changes, the catalyst of which is COVID-19, must take place, associated with significant civilization consequences. It is positive that we still have the opportunity, with clarity of purpose and combined efforts, to positively moderate change and increase the chances of human survival as a species.

Rémy Froissart, Charlotte Brives, Cécile Breyton, Claire Le Marrec

The present meeting report aims to cover the scientific activities of the 4th French Bacteriophage Network (Phages.fr) symposium which took place during 24th-25th September 2018, at the Agora du Haut-Carré in Talence (France). The hosting institute was University Bordeaux and 72 participants attended the meeting from both public and private sectors, coming from France, Belgium, Ireland, Germany, Portugal and Canada. The scientific program was structured in three themed oral sessions entitled "ecology and evolution", "bacteriophage-host molecular interaction", and "therapy and biotechnology applications" consisting of 21 oral presentations, including three keynote lectures, and a presentation of the activities of the Spanish bacteriophage network. A poster session included 22 presentations.

The conserved bacterial protein RloC, a distant homologue of the tRNALys anticodon nuclease (ACNase) PrrC, is shown here to act as a wobble nucleotide-excising and Zn++-responsive tRNase. The more familiar PrrC is silenced by a genetically linked type I DNA restriction-modification (R-M) enzyme, activated by a phage anti-DNA restriction factor and counteracted by phage tRNA repair enzymes. RloC shares PrrC's ABC ATPase motifs and catalytic ACNase triad but features a distinct zinc-hook/coiled-coil insert that renders its ATPase domain similar to Rad50 and related DNA repair proteins. Geobacillus kaustophilus RloC expressed in Escherichia coli exhibited ACNase activity that differed from PrrC's in substrate preference and ability to excise the wobble nucleotide. The latter specificity could impede reversal by phage tRNA repair enzymes and account perhaps for RloC's more frequent occurrence. Mutagenesis and functional assays confirmed RloC's catalytic triad assignment and implicated its zinc hook in regulating the ACNase function. Unlike PrrC, RloC is rarely linked to a type I R-M system but other genomic attributes suggest their possible interaction in trans. As DNA damage alleviates type I DNA restriction, we further propose that these related perturbations prompt RloC to disable translation and thus ward off phage escaping DNA restriction during the recovery from DNA damage.

Starting from phage therapy, the therapeutic use of bacteriophage viruses to treat bacterial infections, this paper shows, by describing bacteriophage collection practices, how the assignment by scientists of a name to a viral strain actually corresponds to a snapshot, at a given time, of a microgeohistory, of an ever-dynamic and fluctuating relationship between bacteriophages and bacteria and their given environments. For scientists engaged in this task, putting phages in a collection does not conduct, at any point of the process, to essentialization. Rather, it is a way to engage with pluribiosis, with the recognition of the existence of multiple relational spectrums between entities forever in the process of becoming, constantly shaped and transformed by their interactions with other living things. Pluribiosis then allows to envisage, with the actors of phage therapy, other ways of treating and practicing infectiology, and other development models.

Strong evidence has recently been against the use of fecal coliforms as indicator organisms of fecal contamination in tropical waters due to their indigenous nature in pristine waters. There is a great need for the development of more rapid, accurate, and low-cost techniques for determining bacteriological water quality. Coliphages seem to be an excellent alternative. We have developed a method to analyze large volumes of pristine water, which we compared to a commonly used direct method. It involves the filtration of water through positively charged filters and a virus-elution step. The eluent is then mixed with culture medium, a host bacterium, and incubated. We sampled pristine tropical rivers, water collected from bromeliads (epiphytic vegetation), sewage-contaminated waters, and marine waters. Concentrations of indicator bacteria were higher than recommended levels for recreational waters, including bromeliad waters. Indicators levels were higher than in bromeliad waters than in sewage-contaminated rivers. Phages were isolated only from waters being used for recreational purposes and from sites known to be contaminated with domestic sewage, but not from pristine or bromeliad waters. These results suggest that there is a correlation between the presence of coliphages and fecal contamination. This further suggests that coliphages may be reliable indicators of fecal contamination in the environment.

The present study was carried out in order to evaluate coliphage survival and their ability to replicate in tropical aquatic environments. Results showed that coliphages survived for extended periods of time, however, neither sewage isolates nor laboratory phage strains tested were permissive to phage replication under environmental conditions. These observations indicate that replication of “fecal coliphages” does not occur in the tropical aquatic environment and suggest that either somatic or male-specific coliphages may be considered as potential indicators of fecal contamination in tropical aquatic environments.

The natural mummification process of the human gut represents a unique opportunity to study the resulting microbial community structure and composition. While results are providing insights into the preservation of bacteria, fungi, pathogenic eukaryotes and eukaryotic viruses, no studies have demonstrated that the process of natural mummification also results in the preservation of bacteriophage DNA. We characterized the gut microbiome of three pre-Columbian Andean mummies, namely FI3, FI9 and FI12, and found sequences homologous to viruses. From the sequences attributable to viruses, 50.4% (mummy FI3), 1.0% (mummy FI9) and 84.4% (mummy FI12) were homologous to bacteriophages. Sequences corresponding to the Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, Podoviridae and Microviridae families were identified. Predicted putative bacterial hosts corresponded mainly to the Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, and included Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Clostridium, Escherichia, Vibrio, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas and Yersi...

Foodborne salmonellosis is a global threat to public health. In the current study, we describe the isolation and characterization of two broad-spectrum, lytic Salmonella phages: SPHG1 and SPHG3 infecting a multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium EG.SmT3. Electron microscopy and whole genome analysis identified SPHG1 as a Myovirus, while SPHG3 as a new member of the genus “Kuttervirus” within the family Ackermannviridae. SPHG1 and SPHG3 had a lysis time of 60 min. with burst sizes of 104 and 138 PFU/cell, respectively. The two phages were robust at variable temperatures and pH ranges that match the corresponding values of most of the food storage and processing conditions. A phage cocktail containing the two phages was stable in the tested food articles for up to 48 h. The application of the phage cocktail at MOIs of 1000 or 100 resulted in a significant reduction in the viable count of S. Typhimurium by 4.2 log10/sample in milk, water, and on chicken breast. Additionally, the pha...

The natural mummification process of the human gut represents a unique opportunity to study the resulting microbial community structure and composition. While results are providing insights into the preservation of bacteria, fungi, pathogenic eukaryotes and eukaryotic viruses, no studies have demonstrated that the process of natural mummification also results in the preservation of bacteriophage DNA. We characterized the gut microbiome of three pre-Columbian Andean mummies, namely FI3, FI9 and FI12, and found sequences homologous to viruses. From the sequences attributable to viruses, 50.4% (mummy FI3), 1.0% (mummy FI9) and 84.4% (mummy FI12) were homologous to bacteriophages. Sequences corresponding to the Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, Podoviridae and Microviridae families were identified. Predicted putative bacterial hosts corresponded mainly to the Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, and included Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Clostridium, Escherichia, Vibrio, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas and Yersi...

The author analyzes the COVID-19 pandemic as a multidimensional phenomenon, including, apart from medical aspects, also those resulting from the evolution of civilization. Author discusses the barriers that are obstacles to the overall understanding of the COViD-19 phenomenon and that prevent consolidation of efforts to counteract it. The side effects of the industrial era regarding disturbances in the functioning of the ecosystem, of which humans are part and their impact on the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed in more detail. The mistakes and omissions of our civilization that could have prevented a pandemic or significantly reduced its consequences are also discussed. The negative information conveyed by the publication is that the already launched avalanche of changes, the catalyst of which is COVID-19, must take place, associated with significant civilization consequences. It is positive that we still have the opportunity, with clarity of purpose and combined efforts, to positiv...

The conserved bacterial anticodon nuclease (ACNase) RloC and its phage-excluding homolog PrrC comprise respective ABC-adenosine tripho-sphatase (ATPase) and ACNase N- and C-domains but differ in three key attributes. First, prrC is always linked to an ACNase silencing, DNA restriction– modification (R–M) locus while rloC rarely features such linkage. Second, RloC excises its substrate’s wobble nucleotide, a lesion expected to impede damage reversal by phage transfer RNA (tRNA) repair enzymes that counteract the nick inflicted by PrrC. Third, a distinct coiled-coil/zinc-hook (CC/ZH) insert likens RloC’s N-region to the univer-sal DNA damage checkpoint/repair protein Rad50. Previous work revealed that ZH mutations activate RloC’s ACNase. Data shown here suggest that RloC has an internal ACNase silencing/activating switch comprising its ZH and DNA-break-responsive ATPase. The existence of this control may explain the lateral transfer of rloC without an external silencer and supports th...

Phage therapy, the use of bacteriophage viruses to treat bacterial infections, has existed for more than a hundred years. However, the practice is struggling to develop, despite growing support over the past 15 years from researchers and doctors, who see it as a promising therapy in the context of the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While the reasons for these developmental difficulties are complex, in this article we wish to address the effects of pharmaceutical regulations on phage therapy. By showing how phages are assimilated to an umpteenth antibiotic in legal texts, but also in certain medical practices, this article proposes to analyze the consequences of such regulatory categorization both for their production and the logistics of administration of proof of their efficacy in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), as well as the underlying concepts of infection and treatment. This paper follows Chandler's work on the concept of antibiotics as infrastructure and its ...

Vaccines against Salmonella Typhi, the causative agent of typhoid fever, are commonly used by travellers, however, there are few examples of national immunization programs in endemic areas. There is therefore a paucity of data on the impact of typhoid immunization programs on localised populations of S. Typhi. Here we have used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to characterise 44 historical bacterial isolates collected before and after a national typhoid immunization program that was implemented in Thailand in 1977 in response to a large outbreak; the program was highly effective in reducing typhoid case numbers. Thai isolates were highly diverse, including 10 distinct phylogenetic lineages or genotypes. Novel prophage and plasmids were also detected, including examples that were previously only reported in Shigella sonnei and Escherichia coli. The majority of S. Typhi genotypes observed prior to the immunization program were not observed following it. Post-vaccine era isolates were mor...

Non-O157 Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) are an important group of foodborne pathogens, implicated in several outbreaks and recalls in the past 2 decades. It is therefore crucial to devise effective control strategies against these pathogens. Bacteriophages present an attractive alternative to conventional pathogen control methods in the food industry. Bacteriophages, targeting non-O157 STEC (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145), were isolated from beef cattle operations in Oklahoma. Their host range and lytic ability were determined against several (n ¼ 21) non-O157 STEC isolates, by using the spot-on-lawn assay. Isolated phages were purified, and their morphology was determined under a transmission electron microscope. Infection kinetics of selected phages (n ¼ 19), particularly adsorption rate, rise period, latent period, and burst size, were determined. Phages were also evaluated for stability at a wide pH range (1 to 11) and temperature range (À80 to 908C). In total, 45 phages were isolated and classified into Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, or Tectiviridae. The phages had a latent period between 8 and 37 min, a rise period between 19 and 40 min, and a large burst size (12 to 794 virions per infected cell), indicating high lytic activity. Tested phages were stable at pH 5 to 9 for 24 h, whereas a decrease in phage titer was observed at pHs 1, 2, and 11. Phages were stable at 40 and 608C, except for O103-specific phages. At 708C, all the phages lost viability after 20 min, except three phages targeting O26 and O121 and one phage targeting O45 and O111 STEC, which remained viable for 60 min. All the phages lost activity after 10 min at 908C, except one each of O26 and O121 STEC-infecting phages that remained viable for 60 min. Phages remained stable for 90 days under refrigerated (48C) and frozen (À20 and À808C) storage. Characterization of phages, targeting diverse non-O157 STEC serotypes, could help in the development of effective biocontrol strategies for this group of pathogens in the food industry.