Agricultural Phage Development Services

Background

Agricultural phage development is an emerging field that leverages bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) as biocontrol agents to combat bacterial plant pathogens. This approach offers a sustainable alternative to traditional chemical pesticides and antibiotics, which have led to environmental pollution, resistance development, and health concerns. Phage therapy in agriculture is gaining attention due to its specificity, environmental friendliness, and ability to evolve with bacterial pathogens.

Phage therapy in agriculture is grounded in the natural ability of phages—viruses that specifically infect and lyse bacteria—to target and control plant-pathogenic bacteria. The core principle lies in host-specific infection: phages recognize and bind to specific receptors on bacterial cell surfaces, inject their genetic material, replicate inside the host, and ultimately cause bacterial cell lysis, releasing new phage particles to continue the cycle. This self-amplifying mechanism allows phages to increase their population where pathogens are present, making them dynamically responsive biocontrol agents. Unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics or chemical pesticides, phages affect only their bacterial targets, preserving beneficial microbiota and minimizing ecological disruption.

Figure 1. Phage therapy for pathogenic bacteria inactivation in the soil environment. (Ye et al., 2019)

Advantages of Phage Therapy in Agriculture

• Targeted Action: Phages specifically infect and kill their bacterial hosts without affecting beneficial microbes, preserving soil health and biodiversity.
• Eco-Friendliness: Phages are natural and do not introduce harmful chemicals into the environment.
• Adaptability: Phages can evolve alongside bacteria, reducing the likelihood of resistance development.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Phages can self-replicate, making them a sustainable and cost-effective solution.

Creative BioMart Microbe's agricultural phage development services provide end-to-end support for the discovery, characterization, and formulation of bacteriophage products tailored to agricultural challenges. Contact us for more information.

Service Procedure

Service Details

• Target Pathogen Profiling: We identify and analyze key bacterial pathogens affecting crops to guide targeted phage selection and ensure effective biocontrol.
• Phage Isolation & Screening: Lytic phages are isolated from environmental sources using the profiled pathogens. High-throughput screening selects the most effective candidates with broad host range and strong lytic activity.
• Characterization & Quality Assessment: Phages undergo genomic analysis, host range testing, and stability evaluation. Only well-characterized, safe, and stable phages move forward. Quality control ensures consistency and purity.
• Formulation Development: We design formulations—liquid, powder, or encapsulated—tailored for field application, ensuring phage viability, environmental stability, and ease of use.
• Field Simulation & Performance Testing: Formulations are tested in greenhouse and simulated field conditions to evaluate efficacy, durability, and application methods under realistic agricultural scenarios.
• Regulatory & Commercial Support: We provide support for regulatory submissions and commercialization, including dossier preparation, data generation, and market strategy guidance.

Platforms & Instruments

Applications Supported

Our Advantages

• Crop and Livestock Specific Expertise: We offer tailored solutions for bacterial threats in crops, livestock, aquaculture, and postharvest environments.
• Rapid Isolation and Screening: Efficient protocols enable fast identification of potent, lytic phages targeting high-priority agricultural pathogens.
• Regulatory-Compliant Phage Profiles: All selected phages are genomically screened to exclude lysogenic, toxin, or resistance-related elements.
• Environmentally Stable Formulations: Phage products are designed to withstand UV exposure, temperature fluctuations, and other field stressors.
• Application-Ready Solutions: Formulations are optimized for use via foliar sprays, soil drenching, feed additives, or water systems.
• End-to-End Development Support: From isolation to field trial readiness, we provide integrated support for phage product development and deployment.

Case Study

Case Study 1: Development of a bacteriophage cocktail against Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum.

This study developed a bacteriophage cocktail targeting Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, a plant pathogen responsible for soft rot in crops. The cocktail includes three lytic phages that use distinct receptors—colanic acid (POP12) and flagella (POP15, POP17)—to reduce the emergence of phage resistance. Compared to single-phage treatments, the cocktail significantly suppressed pathogen growth and soft rot symptoms in napa cabbage under both lab and greenhouse conditions. Phage-resistant mutants showed reduced production of plant cell wall-degrading enzymes and impaired motility, indicating lowered virulence. These findings support receptor-diverse phage cocktails as a promising strategy for sustainable crop protection.

Figure 2. Effect of the phage cocktail in preventing soft rot in young leaves of napa cabbage grown in the greenhouse. (A) Phages or phage cocktails were sprayed on young leaves (MOI 100), followed by P. carotovorum Pcc27 inoculation (10⁶ CFU/pot) 1 day later. After 30 h incubation, symptoms were assessed 2 days post-transfer to greenhouse. Antibiotics and SM buffer served as controls. (B) The extent of soft rot was evaluated based on visual assessment of symptom severity in leaves using a four-point scale. (Kim et al., 2022)

Case Study 2: Development of a lytic Ralstonia phage cocktail and evaluation of its control efficacy against tobacco bacterial wilt.

This study focused on developing effective phage-based biocontrol for bacterial wilt (BW) caused by Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum. Nine phages (YL1–YL9) were isolated, among which YL1 and YL4 showed broad host ranges, while YL2 and YL3 demonstrated strong control efficacy. Phage cocktails were formulated, and BPC-1 (YL3 + YL4) achieved the highest disease control rate (99.25%) in pot experiments. The four key phages displayed notable thermal and pH stability. Genomic and structural analyses revealed that all belonged to the genus Gervaisevirus, and differences in tail fiber protein tip domains likely contribute to host range variation. The findings highlight the potential of combining broad-spectrum and high-efficacy phages for BW biocontrol in agriculture.

Figure 3. Control efficiency of phages and phage cocktails against BW in pots. (A, B) show the evaluation of single-phage biocontrol potential; (C, D) show the control efficacy of phage cocktails against tobacco BW inoculation with three R. pseudosolanacearium strains. Letters in the bar chart indicate significant differences according to Duncan's analysis (P 0.05); NCK is the negative control group. (He et al., 2025)

FAQs

References:

1. He H, Yi K, Yang L, et al. Development of a lytic Ralstonia phage cocktail and evaluation of its control efficacy against tobacco bacterial wilt. Front Plant Sci. 2025;16:1554992. doi:10.3389/fpls.2025.1554992
2. Kim H, Kim M, Jee SN, Heu S, Ryu S. Development of a bacteriophage cocktail against Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum and its effects on Pectobacterium virulence. Vives M, ed. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2022;88(19):e00761-22. doi:10.1128/aem.00761-22
3. Umrao PD, Kumar V, Kaistha SD. Biocontrol potential of bacteriophage ɸsp1 against bacterial wilt-causing Ralstonia solanacearum in Solanaceae crops. Egypt J Biol Pest Control. 2021;31(1):61. doi:10.1186/s41938-021-00408-3
4. Ye M, Sun M, Huang D, et al. A review of bacteriophage therapy for pathogenic bacteria inactivation in the soil environment. Environment International. 2019;129:488-496. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.05.062