Bacterial diseases of animals and plants significantly reduce agricultural productivity and pose a threat to human health. Bacteriophages are currently being explored as a promising means of microbial control in agriculture and fisheries. A special issue of the journal "PHAGE: Therapy, Applications, and Research" is devoted to this topic.

"Although the incidence of bacterial diseases in agriculture and fisheries is growing, producers are being pressured to limit their use of antibiotics. Consequently, there is an urgent need for antimicrobial agents that prevent and treat these diseases, avoid environmental pollution, and prevent human infections—including those working in farms, food production facilities, and consumers of agricultural products. Bacteriophages may offer at least a partial solution to this problem," notes Martha Clokie, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Leicester (UK) and Editor-in-Chief of the journal PHAGE.

Topics covered in this special issue of the journal include:

- Prospects of phage biocontrol in agriculture and fisheries in India.

- Application of phage diagnostics to detect bacterial pathogens in the agricultural supply chain – from farm to fork.

- Bacteriophages as a means of biocontrol of the trout disease pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum .

- Efficacy of bacteriophages against toxigenic biofilm-forming E. coli on leafy greens and cucumbers.

- The influence of phage therapy of brucellosis on the immune response in cattle.

- The virulent bacteriophage Clostridium perfringens is the first bacteriophage of a new genus.

Full-text access to all articles is now open.

PHAGE: Therapy, Applications, and Research is the only peer-reviewed journal dedicated to fundamental research of bacteriophages and their applications in medicine, agriculture, veterinary science, the food industry, and elsewhere.