Bacteriophage biology and the control of pathogenic bacteria.

The proposed project is divided into two major aims: the application of phages for the control of the common foodborne pathogen Salmonella, and the study of basic phage biology that may be applicable to future phage applications. In the second aim, work may be conducted on Salmonella and non-Salmonella phages, depending on the availability of genetic tools in other phage-host systems.Control of Salmonella colonizing the lymph nodes of beef cattleContinue the isolation and characterization of novel Salmonella phages with a focus on serovars most associated with human illness.Develop and validate a microtiter plate assay for phage host range to supplement or replace the traditional agar overlay method.Evaluation of phages and cocktails against Salmonella in a cattle hide swatch model and soil model.Study the basic biology of therapeutic phagesDetermination of essential phage genesDevelopment of tools for genetic manipulation of phage