Bacteriophages: Biology and Applications

Since the introduction of antibiotics, Western medicine has paid little attention to bacteriophages for dealing with bacterial infection. In response to the emergence of pathogenic bacteria that cannot be treated with current antibiotics, many researchers are revisiting the use of bacteriophages, or phages, to fight multidrug-resistant bacteria, as they can effectively kill bacteria resistant to all currently available antibiotics, and are more specific, more adaptive, and less expensive to produce than antibiotics.Bacteriophages: Biology and Applications provides unparalleled, comprehensive information on bacteriophages and their applications, such as phage therapy. It explores the history, biology, ecology, genomics, and applications of phages, and provides an overview of phage literature from research techniques and basic molecular biology to applications in agriculture, human therapy, and biotechnology. Chapters include the role of phages in bacterial evolution, the molecular mechanisms of phages' interactions with bacteria, the control of bacteriophages in industrial fermentations, and bacteriophage therapy in animals and humans. A detailed appendix includes the techniques, media, and methodology involved in isolating and working with phages.Filled with many helpful photographs, line drawings, and electron micrographs of phages, this is an ideal reference for scientists and researchers from a wide variety of disciplines.