Waterborne bacterial pathogens are a major public health concern worldwide, taking many lives and imposing huge economical burden. Rapid and specific detection of pathogens and proper water quality monitoring is an urgent need for preventing the spread of bacterial pathogens and disease outbreaks. Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are the most abundant and ubiquitous biological entities on our planet. These bacterial viruses exist in every niche of the biosphere and target their host bacteria with high specificity. Phages can be employed as bio-probes to not only detect a pathogen of interest, but differentiate between viable and non-viable bacteria, and detect their host where traditional lab cultures may fall short. That, in addition to resilience in harsh environments and relative ease of mass production, renders phage promising candidates for pathogen detection applications. However, translation of phage-based biosensors to commercial products has been slow. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the current status of phage-based biosensors/bioassays for detection of waterborne bacterial pathogens, and important design parameters for bacteriophage-based detection platforms. We also discuss the challenges and promises of using phage-based detection methods in water and wastewater samples, as well as the future outlook for use of bacteriophages as a powerful tool in environmental engineering.

中文翻译：

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新兴研究者系列：噬菌体作为纳米工程工具，用于水和废水中的质量监测和病原体检测

水性细菌病原体是全世界主要的公共卫生问题，夺走了许多生命并造成了巨大的经济负担。为了防止细菌性病原体扩散和疾病暴发，急需对病原体进行快速，特异的检测并进行适当的水质监测。噬菌体（简称噬菌体）是地球上最丰富，最普遍存在的生物实体。这些细菌病毒存在于生物圈的每个生态位，并以高特异性靶向其宿主细菌。噬菌体可以用作生物探针，不仅可以检测目标病原体，还可以区分活细菌和非活细菌，并在传统实验室培养可能不足的地方检测其宿主。那除了在恶劣环境下具有弹性和相对容易的批量生产外，使噬菌体有望用于病原体检测应用。但是，基于噬菌体的生物传感器向商业产品的转化一直很缓慢。在这篇综合综述中，我们讨论了用于检测水性细菌病原体的基于噬菌体的生物传感器/生物测定法的现状以及基于噬菌体的检测平台的重要设计参数。我们还将讨论在水和废水样品中使用基于噬菌体的检测方法所面临的挑战和前景，以及将噬菌体作为环境工程中的有力工具的未来前景。我们讨论了用于检测水生细菌病原体的基于噬菌体的生物传感器/生物测定法的现状，以及基于噬菌体的检测平台的重要设计参数。我们还将讨论在水和废水样品中使用基于噬菌体的检测方法所面临的挑战和前景，以及将噬菌体作为环境工程中的有力工具的未来前景。我们讨论了用于检测水生细菌病原体的基于噬菌体的生物传感器/生物测定法的现状，以及基于噬菌体的检测平台的重要设计参数。我们还将讨论在水和废水样品中使用基于噬菌体的检测方法所面临的挑战和前景，以及将噬菌体作为环境工程中的有力工具的未来前景。