Joana Azeredo

Use of Bacteriophages to Control Biofilms: Novel Phage Isolation, Characterization and Their Use in Single and Dual-species Biofilm Control Joana Azeredo

After several years of abandonment, the use of (bacterio)phages for bacterial control has withdrawn reappraisal and several studies are ongoing on varied fields. Despite this enthusiasm, there is a lack of research on the use of phage to reduce bacteria living on surfaces in a life form known as biofilms. This work explores the potential of phages in controlling Pseudomonas fluorescens (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus lentus (Gram-positive), two widespread inhabitants of dairy plant surfaces and products. P. fluorescens is the dominant microorganism present in the microflora of raw or pasteurized milk at the time of spoilage and frequently isolated from contaminated fresh meats and refrigerated products. S. lentus is coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and a member of the S. sciuri group which are recurrently recovered from infected bovine and caprine mammary glands. "Use of bacteriophages to control biofilms" emphasis on the isolation and thorough morphological, physico-chemical and genomic characterization of phages and furthermore focuses on efficacy studies of phages against planktonic cultures and host bacteria in mono- and dual-species biofilms.