TY - JOUR
T1 - Bacteriophages
T2 - sustainable and effective solution for climate-resilient agriculture
AU - Siyanbola, Kehinde Favour
AU - Ejiohuo, Ovinuchi
AU - Ade-adekunle, Olusegun A
AU - Adekunle, Feranmi O
AU - Onyeaka, Helen
AU - Furr, Carrie-Lynn Langlais
AU - Hodges, Francesca E
AU - Carvalho, Pedro
AU - Oladipo, Elijah Kolawole
PY - 2024/9/18
Y1 - 2024/9/18
N2 - Climate change entails significant challenges to global food security and agricultural sustainability, prompting the need for innovative solutions to enhance climate resilience in farming practices. Bacteriophages (phages), viruses that specifically target and infect bacteria, provide promising applications in numerous agricultural practices to address these challenges. With traits such as specificity towards bacterial pathogens along with self-replication, self-dosing, and adaptability properties phages offer potential as effective biocontrol agents while exerting minimal harm on non-target organisms or their surrounding environment. In this review, various applications of phages have been explored, including increasing crop resilience, improving soil health, preserving food, managing water resources, and adapting to emerging pests and diseases. Additionally, the benefits of these applications are also explored, such as improving sustainable practices, enhancing plant growth and yield, and supporting pollinator health. Although they offer great promise, there are still several obstacles such as limited host range, environmental stability, and regulatory challenges, so further research and policies are required for their integration into agricultural systems. Furthermore, education and public awareness are essential for farmers to adopt phage-based biocontrol. By harnessing the potential of phages, agriculture can mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, promote sustainability, and ensure food security in a changing climate.
AB - Climate change entails significant challenges to global food security and agricultural sustainability, prompting the need for innovative solutions to enhance climate resilience in farming practices. Bacteriophages (phages), viruses that specifically target and infect bacteria, provide promising applications in numerous agricultural practices to address these challenges. With traits such as specificity towards bacterial pathogens along with self-replication, self-dosing, and adaptability properties phages offer potential as effective biocontrol agents while exerting minimal harm on non-target organisms or their surrounding environment. In this review, various applications of phages have been explored, including increasing crop resilience, improving soil health, preserving food, managing water resources, and adapting to emerging pests and diseases. Additionally, the benefits of these applications are also explored, such as improving sustainable practices, enhancing plant growth and yield, and supporting pollinator health. Although they offer great promise, there are still several obstacles such as limited host range, environmental stability, and regulatory challenges, so further research and policies are required for their integration into agricultural systems. Furthermore, education and public awareness are essential for farmers to adopt phage-based biocontrol. By harnessing the potential of phages, agriculture can mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, promote sustainability, and ensure food security in a changing climate.
KW - climate change
KW - agriculture
KW - sustainable
KW - bacteriophages
KW - climate resilient
KW - plant
KW - phages
U2 - 10.1093/sumbio/qvae025
DO - 10.1093/sumbio/qvae025
M3 - Review article
SN - 2755-1970
VL - 1
JO - Sustainable Microbiology
JF - Sustainable Microbiology
IS - 1
M1 - qvae025
ER -