Prevention of P. fluorescens adhesion to surfaces using bacteriophage ΦS1

Abstract

The presence of biofilms in industrial settings is problematic as bacteria are responsible for several losses including product spoilage. Biofilms are difficult to eradicate and their removal and destruction has been for long attempted using chemical biocides. These agents usually yield very low biofilm removal amounts, have negative environmental impacts and the emergence of biocide-resistant bacteria represents one of the major drawback on their use. Therefore there is an increase interest in the utilization of bacteriophages (phages). Phages are specific for a host or a range of hosts, active against biocide-resistant bacteria and considered innocuous to the environment. This work focuses on the use of bacteriophage ΦS1 to prevent P. fluorescens biofilm formation. Glass and stainless steel surfaces were coated with a suspension of 10^9 PFUmlˉ¹ prior to bacterial attachment. The results obtained showed, that P. fluorescens were no longer able to adhere to these surfaces. Moreover, after several washings of the surface the remaining attached phages (10³ PFUmlˉ¹) were still able to prevent biofilm formation on the surfaces.