Isolation and Characterization of Listeria phages for Control of Growth of in Milk.

In this study, two bacteriophages, LMP1 and LMP7, were isolated from chicken feces as a means of biocontrol of . Both bacteriophages had a lytic effect on ATCC 7644, 15313, 19114, and 19115. Phages LMP1 and LMP7 were able to inhibit the growth of ATCC 7644 and 19114 in tryptic soy broth at 10°C and 30°C. Nevertheless, LMP1 was more effective than LMP7 at inhibiting ATCC 19114. On the contrary, LMP7 was more effective than LMP1 at inhibiting ATCC 7644. The morphology of LMP1 and LMP7 resembled that of members of the family. The growth of ATCC 7644 was inhibited by both LMP1 and LMP7 in milk; however, the growth of ATCC 19114 was only inhibited by LMP1 at 30°C. The lytic activity of bacteriophages was also evaluated at 4°C in milk in order to investigate the potential use of these phages in refrigerated products. In conclusion, these two bacteriophages exhibit different host specificities and characteristics, suggesting that they can be used as a component of a phage cocktail to control in the food industry.