Population Genomics and Phylogeography of an Australian Dairy Factory Derived Lytic Bacteriophage. Lactococcus phage ASCC

Bacteriophage infection is a common problem for the dairy industry because the fermentation of milk occurs under clean but not sterile conditions so bacteriophage cannot be entirely excluded. When bacteriophage infection occurs it can cause delays or losses in production that have both economic and environmental impacts. To better understand the mechanisms of phage transmission in the dairy industry, a phylogenomic survey of phage isolated from routinely collected whey samples were taken from the central culture supplier that provides starter cultures to much of the Australian dairy industry. This survey focused on two host range groups and spanned factories separated by hundreds of kilometers with samples spanning a 10 year period. Previous analysis of dairy bacteriophage has primarily been comparative genomics of random isolates, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of the evolution and distribution of phage found in the dairy environment.