Salmonella phage therapy in UK pigs. From potential to practice: Unlocking the power of phages to eradicate Salmonella infection in pigs

Bacteriophages (phages) offer a suitable, sustainable alternative to antibiotics and have the potential to control multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens in diverse environments. Research project BB/T006196/1 involves the development of highly-efficacious phage applications for the control of MDR Salmonella spp. in UK pigs. A combination of in vitro data (phage host-range data, Omnilog profiles), genomics (phage and bacterial hosts), in vivo studies (Galleria and live pig models), and machine-based learning (MBL) are being used to inform phage cocktail design. Phages targeting S. Typhimurium, S. Derby, S. Bovismorbificans, and monophasic serovars have undergone individual in-depth analysis prior to phage cocktail formulation. Analysis of the potential emergence of resistance to phage infection also constitutes an important component of the investigation with comparative genomic approaches being applied to wild-type (WT) and phage-resistant Salmonella spp. Improving phage cocktail efficacy via MBL-approaches has the potential to unlock the power of phages to eradicate an important pathogen in pigs.