Isolation of lytic bacteriophages and their potential to control Cronobacter spp. - Opportunistic food-borne pathogens

Bacteriophage could be an effective and safe method to decrease the presence of pathogens in food. In this study, lytic phages were isolated and examined for their efficacy to control pathogens. It was isolated using the "plaque assay" method with the indicator bacteria, Cronobacter spp. and the lytic ability of isolated phage was confirmed using turbidity test. The isolated KA5 from chicken skin samples was able to inhibit the growth of bacterial host (Cronobacter spp.) specifically Cronobacter malonaticus strain 05CHPL53. Infection of Cronobacter malonaticus using KA5 for 360 minutes showed the significant reduction of Cronobacter growth. Based on morphological classification with the ICTV system, the KA5 can be classified into the Myoviridae family with a contractile tail. These data suggested that isolated phage from raw chicken skin are potential agents for controlling Cronobacter spp.