User:BRogers42/sandbox

[Information is currently arranged by the source in which it was found. Later versions will incorporate aspects of each source in order to produce a cohesive narrative and not rely on a single source for a given paragraph of information.]

Bacteriophages have been explored as biological controls to suppress bacterial infections of various food crops. These phages will not survive in the absence of their host and so degrade more readily than traditional chemical controls. In addition to targeting a pathogen that causes disease, phages could also be used to remove competitive bacteria within the soil environment to increase beneficial plant-microbes symbioses such as nitrogen-fixation. Phages can also interact with bacteria within the phyllosphere but are more susceptible to UV damage than those in the soil environment. Additionally, excess UV damage can restrict a phage's ability to perform DNA replication and transcription, although using skim milk powder seems to offer phages some protection against UV radiation.