Lysis activity of bacteriophages isolated from raw meat and their potential as biocontrol agents against Escherichia coli

The potential application of bacteriophages as biological agent in controlling pathogenic bacteria for improving food safety appears to gain interest and recognition quite recently. This study was to evaluate the lysis activity of bacteriophages isolated from raw meat. The lysis activity evaluated using disc diffusion method and in vitro challenge test in LB broth showed that the isolated bacteriophages have the ability to control the growth of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, thus have potential as biological control agent for future use in food industry. The isolated bacteriophages have the ability to lyse E. coli ATCC 25922 cells culture in LB broth at 37 °C and 30 °C during 4 h of incubation. This finding is supported by the turbidity result which also indicates that the bacteriophages suppressed the growth of E. coli cells in LB broth. On the other hand, no lysis activity could be observed at 4 °C. However, more precise studies need to be done on all isolates to confirm on their potential as biological control of E. coli in food industry in the near future.