Emerging Pathogenic Bacteria and Phage Therapy

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Emerging Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2026 | Viewed by 27

Special Issue Editors

CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: phage therapy; bacteriophages; pathogenic bacteria; multidrug resistance bacteria; antibiotic resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: phage therapy; phage biocontrol; bacteriophages; phage cocktails; pathogenic bacteria

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid emergence and global spread of pathogenic bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics have become one of the most urgent public health concerns of the twenty-first century. As antimicrobial resistance continues to rise, the global scientific community faces the critical challenge of identifying and developing new therapeutic approaches to overcome bacterial infections that no longer respond to traditional treatments. In this context, bacteriophages—viruses that specifically infect and lyse bacteria—have re-emerged as promising tools, offering new possibilities for combating resistant pathogens and complementing existing antimicrobial strategies.

This Special Issue, entitled “Emerging Pathogenic Bacteria and Phage Therapy”, will feature cutting-edge research articles and comprehensive reviews that examine the diversity, molecular mechanisms, and clinical significance of emerging bacterial pathogens, alongside innovative applications of bacteriophage therapy in human, animal, and environmental health. By highlighting recent advances in phage–bacteria interactions, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, and therapeutic development, this issue seeks to advance our understanding of microbial pathogenesis and to promote the translation of phage-based strategies into effective and sustainable solutions for infectious disease control.

Dr. Carla Pereira
Dr. Pedro Costa
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • antimicrobial resistance
  • emerging pathogens
  • bacteriophages
  • phage therapy
  • infectious disease control

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 2711 KB  
Article
Three Novel Bacteriophages for the Biocontrol of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae on Artificially Contaminated Kiwifruit Leaves
by Carla Pereira, Eduardo Gomes, Pedro Costa, João Duarte, Márcia Braz, Vanessa Oliveira, Newton N. C. Gomes, Victor M. Balcão and Adelaide Almeida
Pathogens 2025, 14(12), 1247; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14121247 - 5 Dec 2025
Abstract
This study compared the efficacy of three individual lytic phages, PSA_LMAPSA-2T (PSA-2T), PSA_LMAPSA-6F (PSA-6F) and PSA_LMAPSA-7F (PSA-7F) and four phage cocktails (dual and triple combinations) in inactivating Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae. Phages were isolated from kiwifruit leaves and soil samples contaminated with P. [...] Read more.
This study compared the efficacy of three individual lytic phages, PSA_LMAPSA-2T (PSA-2T), PSA_LMAPSA-6F (PSA-6F) and PSA_LMAPSA-7F (PSA-7F) and four phage cocktails (dual and triple combinations) in inactivating Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae. Phages were isolated from kiwifruit leaves and soil samples contaminated with P. syringae pv. actinidiae and characterized by host spectrum, growth parameters, adsorption rate, genomic analysis, inactivation efficiency and viability under variable environmental conditions in orchard environments (temperature, pH and solar radiation). Phage PSA-2T showed the highest in vitro efficacy, achieving a 3.2 log CFU/mL maximum reduction after 18 h, outperforming PSA-6F and PSA-7F (0.6 and 1.5 log reductions, respectively). Phage cocktails achieved reductions of 1.0–2.2 log CFU/mL, but none exceeded the performance of PSA-2T alone. Phage viability was most affected by high temperature and acidic pH, with PSA-7F showing the greatest sensitivity. Nonetheless, all phages remained stable under typical orchard conditions. Phage PSA-2T significantly reduced P. syringae pv. actinidiae levels (1.5-log CFU/mL) on artificially contaminated kiwifruit leaves after a single treatment. These results demonstrate the potential of PSA-2T and phage cocktails as sustainable alternatives to copper and antibiotics, warranting further study of repeated treatments and broad-host-range phage formulations for field use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pathogenic Bacteria and Phage Therapy)
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