Goals & Deliverables

Seven major goals will be addressed by the Phage4Crops COST Action:

1. establish an R&D network on phage research in the agri-food sector in Europe and train YRIs in the field of phage biology and application (WG1-WG4);
2. discover and characterise new phages and to promote the establishment of at least one international repository for phages with relevance to agriculture (WG1);
3. assess phage-related traits in bacterial genomes allowing to develop predictive tools and get fundamental evolutionary insights in phytopathogens (WG1, WG2);
4. develop databases on metagenomic, host range and molecular phage-bacteria interactions in agricultural environments (WG2, WG3);
5. determine the effects of phages on bacteria at the molecular level to identify efficient phage candidates for long-term biocontrol strategies (WG2, WG3);
6. provide guidelines on the use of phages and phage cocktails, on formulations and on application protocols (WG3); and
7. deliver knowledge on the feasibility and acceptance of biocontrol strategies based on the use of phages against phytopathogenic bacteria (WG3, WG4).

In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding and its objectives for research coordination and capacity building, the following deliverables were defined:

• D1.1: Printed materials (poster and flyer) summarizing the objectives and activities of the action (WG4 / Month 6)
• D1.2: Website of the Phage4Crops action (WG4 / Month 6)
• D1.3: Questionnaire to assess the status quo of phage biocontrol initiatives in the EU and partner countries (WG1 / Month 6)
• D1.4: Mapped database of laboratories, institutions, companies and biological resources (i.e., phages and bacterial hosts) with relevance to phage biocontrol (WG1 / Month 12)
• D1.5: Step-by-step protocol for phage preservation and submission to the phage repository (WG1 / Month 12)
• D2.1: Guidelines for rational phage cocktail design for integrated pest management (WG3 / Month 24)
• D2.2: Set of guidelines and standardised protocols for analysing the host range testing of phages of agricultural relevance (WG2 / Month 24)
• D2.3: One report summarising current trends and knowledge gaps in agricultural viromics (based on webinars and questionnaires) (WG2 / Month 24)
• D3.1: Popular science materials about phage-based biocontrol (WG4 / Month 30)
• D3.2: Bioinformatic pipeline to analyse genomes of plant-associated bacteria (WG2 / Month 36)
• D3.3: Validated bioinformatic pipeline and protocol for microbiota-derived metagenomic analyses in agriculture (WG2 / Month 36)
• D3.4: Set of general guidelines for agricultural phage applications, either prophylactic or curative (WG3 / Month 36)
• D3.5: Report of the stakeholders survey about the concerns and challenges of integrating phages into common agricultural practices (WG4 / Month 36)
• D3.6: Interactive database of phages of agricultural reference integrating their genomic information (WG 2/ Month 36)
• D3.7: Manuscripts describing phages isolated in training schools fully sequenced and annotated (WG1 / Month 36)
• D3.8: Report of the public survey of the phage biocontrol acceptance (WG4 / Month 36)
• D4.1: Report and minutes of the workshop of the EU-wide regulatory requirements about biocontrol phage products (WG4 / Month 42)
• D4.2: Meeting with the stakeholders (farmers, agricultural advisors, consumer organisations) (WG4 / Month 42)
• D4.3: Meta-analysis manuscript on host range patterns and molecular determinants of susceptibility among phytopathogenic bacteria (WG2 / Month 48)
• D4.4: Manuscript on phage-related genomic traits in bacteria of agricultural relevance (WG2 / Month 48)
• D4.5: Article summarising current strategies and bottlenecks in phage cocktail development (WG3 / Month 48)
• D4.6: Guidelines for phage formulation and stabilisation in agricultural applications (WG3 / Month 48)