Advances in the application of GM phages in research, development and industry

COGEM has commissioned a literature review to gain insight into the developments of genetically modified bacteriophages. Bacteriophages are currently being explored as promising and versatile tools with potential applications in various sectors, such as human and veterinary medicine, research, diagnostics, food safety, environmental protection, and agriculture. As natural enemies of bacteria, bacteriophages offer a targeted approach to fight bacterial infections and addres the challenges of antibiotic resistance. In addition, genetic modification offers opportunities to adapt bacteriophages for specific applications, in order to improve effectiveness, usability and safety. In the first part of the study, an overview is given of specific characteristics of naturally occurring (wild type) bacteriophages, as these characteristics form the basis for their applications and provide the background for genetic modification. Next, the genetic modification of bacteriophages is examined. Various techniques for genetically modifying bacteriophages are described and the purpose of genetic modification is explained. The genetically modified phages identified in the present study are primarily in the developmental stage. There is no clinical or environmental application of genetically modified phages that has yet reached the commercial stage. While this may be due to the fact that genetically modified phages are still much more recent than wild-type phages, a lack of thorough risk assessment criteria may also play a role.