1ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar-125001, Haryana, India
2Department of Molecular Biology, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004, Haryana, India
3Department of Zoology and Aquaculture, CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004, Haryana, India
4Ex-Vice Chancellor and Director IVRI, Izatnagar, Bareilly-243122, Uttar Pradesh, India
5Deputy Director General (Animal Science), ICAR, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi, India
*Corresponding author E-mail id: tanandbt@gmail.com
Online Published on 06 August, 2022.
Bacteriophages, usually known as phages, are the natural predators of bacteria. They reside in the habitats where bacteria are found and are abundant in nature including soil, water, sewage, etc. It has been estimated that the number of phages that have been isolated and characterized, likely represent only a tiny fraction of the overall diversity. A glimpse of the large range of applications of phages in the field of biotechnology and medical science especially when we are facing bottleneck in modern drug therapy due to wider-scale antimicrobial resistance (AMR) against antibiotics, gives us a hope to venture in exploiting the potential of our most versatile heritage, which has been a lifeline of millions from centuries. Researchers believe that besides phages as therapeutics, their encoded endolysins can also be used as therapeutic formulations thus having a potential to replace antibiotics. Phage therapy has been revitalized and it offers an affordable alternative strategy for combating emerging AMR infections.
Bacteriophage, Antimicrobial Resistance, Phage Therapy, Endolysin, Biofilm
