Understanding Phage Particles

Dear Colleagues,

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that only infect and kill bacteria. They are the most abundant biological entities on earth, occupying all ecological niches where they have a decisive role in the balance and evolution of bacterial ecosystems. Phages shape bacterial population dynamics and can significantly alter both intra- and interspecific competition among their bacterial hosts. Phage particles are vehicles for horizontal gene transfer, and many bacterial virulence and fitness factors are encoded by phages or phage-like elements. Advances in phage biology research have led to the study of these phage–host interactions and their exploitation to obtain phages and phage-based products for their application in different settings, such as agricultural and food industry as well as in clinical settings.

With this Special Issue, we want to provide an update on those phage–host interactions, especially, but not limited to, interactions involving horizontal gene transfer, modification of the bacterial fitness, the role of phage particles as reservoirs of bacterial genes, their role as drivers of evolution for bacterial communities, as well as an update on the potential of phages and phage-based products for phage therapy and other applications.