Phage Endolysins as an Alternative Biocontrol Strategy for Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms in the Food Industry

Food contamination by pathogenic and spoilage bacteria causes approximately 47 million cases of foodborne diseases in the United States and leads to tons of food spoilage, worsening the food loss situation worldwide. In addition, conventional preservation treatments implemented in the food industry...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maryoris E. Soto Lopez, Fernando Mendoza-Corvis, Jose Jorge Salgado-Behaine, Ana M. Hernandez-Arteaga, Víctor González-Peña, Andrés M. Burgos-Rivero, Derrick Cortessi, Pedro M. P. Vidigal, Omar Pérez-Sierra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Viruses
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/4/564
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849714097568874496
author Maryoris E. Soto Lopez
Fernando Mendoza-Corvis
Jose Jorge Salgado-Behaine
Ana M. Hernandez-Arteaga
Víctor González-Peña
Andrés M. Burgos-Rivero
Derrick Cortessi
Pedro M. P. Vidigal
Omar Pérez-Sierra
author_facet Maryoris E. Soto Lopez
Fernando Mendoza-Corvis
Jose Jorge Salgado-Behaine
Ana M. Hernandez-Arteaga
Víctor González-Peña
Andrés M. Burgos-Rivero
Derrick Cortessi
Pedro M. P. Vidigal
Omar Pérez-Sierra
author_sort Maryoris E. Soto Lopez
collection DOAJ
description Food contamination by pathogenic and spoilage bacteria causes approximately 47 million cases of foodborne diseases in the United States and leads to tons of food spoilage, worsening the food loss situation worldwide. In addition, conventional preservation treatments implemented in the food industry decrease food’s nutritional and organoleptic quality. Therefore, there is a need for new alternatives to counteract food contamination without altering its characteristics. Endolysins are a promising strategy due to their unique properties, such as host specificity, synergism with other antibacterial agents, mode of action, and low probability of resistance development. These characteristics differentiate them from other antibacterial agents used in the food industry. Endolysins are enzymes produced by bacteriophages during the process of bacterial infection and lysis. This review describes the advances related to endolysin application systems in food, considering their potential for food safety and an overview of the application conditions according to the type of food and bacteria to be controlled. We also highlight the need for new studies on endolysin encapsulation and prolongation of the action time in cases of outbreaks that allow obtaining key information to improve the application of endolysins in different food matrices during food processing and storage
format Article
id doaj-art-485409fc74e94533bdbc90e48816b2ee
institution DOAJ
issn 1999-4915
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Viruses
spelling doaj-art-485409fc74e94533bdbc90e48816b2ee2025-08-20T03:13:48ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152025-04-0117456410.3390/v17040564Phage Endolysins as an Alternative Biocontrol Strategy for Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms in the Food IndustryMaryoris E. Soto Lopez0Fernando Mendoza-Corvis1Jose Jorge Salgado-Behaine2Ana M. Hernandez-Arteaga3Víctor González-Peña4Andrés M. Burgos-Rivero5Derrick Cortessi6Pedro M. P. Vidigal7Omar Pérez-Sierra8Grupo de Investigación en Propiedades y Procesos Alimentarios—GIPPAL, Departamento de Ingeniería de Alimentos, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 N° 76-103, Código, Montería 230002, ColombiaGrupo de Investigación en Propiedades y Procesos Alimentarios—GIPPAL, Departamento de Ingeniería de Alimentos, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 N° 76-103, Código, Montería 230002, ColombiaGrupo de Investigación en Propiedades y Procesos Alimentarios—GIPPAL, Departamento de Ingeniería de Alimentos, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 N° 76-103, Código, Montería 230002, ColombiaGrupo de Investigación en Propiedades y Procesos Alimentarios—GIPPAL, Departamento de Ingeniería de Alimentos, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 N° 76-103, Código, Montería 230002, ColombiaGrupo de Investigación en Propiedades y Procesos Alimentarios—GIPPAL, Departamento de Ingeniería de Alimentos, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 N° 76-103, Código, Montería 230002, ColombiaGrupo de Investigación en Propiedades y Procesos Alimentarios—GIPPAL, Departamento de Ingeniería de Alimentos, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 N° 76-103, Código, Montería 230002, ColombiaAnimal and Dairy Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), Madison, WI 53706-1205, USAAnimal and Dairy Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), Madison, WI 53706-1205, USAGrupo de Investigación en Propiedades y Procesos Alimentarios—GIPPAL, Departamento de Ingeniería de Alimentos, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 N° 76-103, Código, Montería 230002, ColombiaFood contamination by pathogenic and spoilage bacteria causes approximately 47 million cases of foodborne diseases in the United States and leads to tons of food spoilage, worsening the food loss situation worldwide. In addition, conventional preservation treatments implemented in the food industry decrease food’s nutritional and organoleptic quality. Therefore, there is a need for new alternatives to counteract food contamination without altering its characteristics. Endolysins are a promising strategy due to their unique properties, such as host specificity, synergism with other antibacterial agents, mode of action, and low probability of resistance development. These characteristics differentiate them from other antibacterial agents used in the food industry. Endolysins are enzymes produced by bacteriophages during the process of bacterial infection and lysis. This review describes the advances related to endolysin application systems in food, considering their potential for food safety and an overview of the application conditions according to the type of food and bacteria to be controlled. We also highlight the need for new studies on endolysin encapsulation and prolongation of the action time in cases of outbreaks that allow obtaining key information to improve the application of endolysins in different food matrices during food processing and storagehttps://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/4/564bacteriophagesendolysinsbiocontrolantibacterial agentsbacterial lysisphage enzymes
spellingShingle Maryoris E. Soto Lopez
Fernando Mendoza-Corvis
Jose Jorge Salgado-Behaine
Ana M. Hernandez-Arteaga
Víctor González-Peña
Andrés M. Burgos-Rivero
Derrick Cortessi
Pedro M. P. Vidigal
Omar Pérez-Sierra
Phage Endolysins as an Alternative Biocontrol Strategy for Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms in the Food Industry
Viruses
bacteriophages
endolysins
biocontrol
antibacterial agents
bacterial lysis
phage enzymes
title Phage Endolysins as an Alternative Biocontrol Strategy for Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms in the Food Industry
title_full Phage Endolysins as an Alternative Biocontrol Strategy for Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms in the Food Industry
title_fullStr Phage Endolysins as an Alternative Biocontrol Strategy for Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms in the Food Industry
title_full_unstemmed Phage Endolysins as an Alternative Biocontrol Strategy for Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms in the Food Industry
title_short Phage Endolysins as an Alternative Biocontrol Strategy for Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms in the Food Industry
title_sort phage endolysins as an alternative biocontrol strategy for pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in the food industry
topic bacteriophages
endolysins
biocontrol
antibacterial agents
bacterial lysis
phage enzymes
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/4/564
work_keys_str_mv AT maryorisesotolopez phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry
AT fernandomendozacorvis phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry
AT josejorgesalgadobehaine phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry
AT anamhernandezarteaga phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry
AT victorgonzalezpena phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry
AT andresmburgosrivero phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry
AT derrickcortessi phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry
AT pedrompvidigal phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry
AT omarperezsierra phageendolysinsasanalternativebiocontrolstrategyforpathogenicandspoilagemicroorganismsinthefoodindustry