Bacteriophages: Potential Biocontrol Agents and Treatment Options for Bacterial Pathogens

The global report on antibiotic resistance by the World Health Organization features the burden of antimicrobial resistance and the emerging risk of a post-antibiotic era, where therapeutic options will no longer exist for previously treatable diseases. The search for alternative avenues to combat multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens has sparked interest in the use of bacteriophages for the treatment of bacterial infections. The unique ability of bacteriophages to infect and kill bacteria without affecting mammalian cells makes them a promising avenue as biocontrol agents against bacterial pathogens. Phage therapy in both animal and human models has shown promising results. Further, the phage-derived proteins (lytic enzymes), such as endolysins, that are the key weapons used by phages to degrade the bacterial cell have been explored by the scientific community as viable therapeutic options themselves. This review focuses on the prospects of phage therapy; an overview of diverse phages isolated against MDR pathogens; phage-derived proteins as antibacterial agents; phage cocktail development; phage and antibiotic combinational therapy; and the application of phages as biocontrol agents in agriculture, veterinary science, synthetic biology, and aquaculture. The review emphasizes the therapeutic use of phages and how they might be applied on a large scale if certain limitations and challenges can be overcome.