Phage-mediated Detection of Biological Threats

Abstract

Bacteriophage, or bacterial viruses, are obligate intracellular parasites that rely upon compatible bacterial host cells for their survival and propagation. Since bacteriophage posses a means to very specifically identify the particular host cells to which they can attach and subsequently infect, this powerful recognition capacity can be exploited to create assays for defined detection and monitoring of bacterial targets. This chapter provides an overview of the various bacteriophage-mediated reporter and sensor systems that have been developed for the detection of priority biological agents.