Otago researchers develop phage cocktails against Pseudomonas in New Zealand cherry orchards

University of Otago researchers Prof Peter Fineran and Dr Robert Fagerlund are studying bacteriophages to tackle bacterial diseases in New Zealand cherry orchards, with funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), and have collected phage samples from Otago orchards. Their team is developing phage cocktails against Pseudomonas; Fineran says the approaches apply to human and animal pathogens, but that phages are not a "silver bullet" and are more likely to complement antibiotics than replace them.