+++ Winter Break +++

Please note that due to our Winter Break all requests received from 15 Dec 2025 to 9 Jan 2026 will be stored in our systems, but not processed until after the break.
We will start answering your requests in the order of their arrival on 12 Jan 2026.

FAQ related to bacteriophages

This page provides information about the handling of phages.
For questions related to the ordering of microorganisms please see our FAQ here or download our short guideline on how to order from the DSMZ.

Please select the topic of interest:

  • Are phages of the DSMZ open collection natural phages or (genetically) manipulated?

    The phages offered by the DSMZ collection are natural phages, they are not genetically or otherwise manipulated.

  • Are all phages of the open DSMZ collection fully characterised?

    The level of characterisation of the phages of the DSMZ collection is varying by means of genome sequencing, ultrastructural description or estimation of efficiency and other parameters. 

  • Does the DSMZ offer phages for therapy purposes in human or veterinary medicine?

    The DSMZ does not provide phages for any direct application in humans or animals and does not hold a special therapy phage bank.
    Phages of the DSMZ are filtrated bacteria-free lysates which are not further purified and only available for laboratory purposes, see our Terms & Conditions.

  • Does the DSMZ provide data or predictions with respect to application suitability of a phage?

    No, any such evaluations or assessments are not given by DSMZ. 

  • How do I work with phages received from the DSMZ?

    Phage methods can be found here.

    We recommend only one particular strain as the host for each of our phages. Please use only this strain as mentioned in the phage entry and use the growth conditions that we recommend for this strain in the strain entry. Please visit our phage online information and methodology. Host culture and agar plates must always be fresh for working with a phage. Each phage suspension batch is routinely titer-controlled and each vacuum-drying production batch is viability-controlled.

    Complaints relating to viability of our phages in principle are not justified. A leaking receptacle containing a phage suspension or a broken glass ampoule is a justified reason for a complaint or if an ampoule does not contain filter discs. If a phage is not lysing at all in the recipient’s laboratory, it can be streaked like a microorganism with an inoculation loop on the top agar containing its host strain to get single phage plaques for further propagation.

  • Does deposit of a phage in the DSMZ public collection cost anything?

    Deposit of biological material in the public collection of the DSMZ is free of charge.
    Charges for the deposit of strains for patent purposes or as a safe deposit are provided in our price list. Information about the different types of deposit can be found here.

    Please note that it is required that the depositor commits to the DSMZ e.g. data on the country of origin where a phage was sampled, on the date of sampling and on the habitat/source of isolation in order to fulfill the requirements of the Nagoya Protocol.

  • Is it necessary to deposit the phage host strain together with a phage?

    Yes, a suitable host strain is required together with a phage deposit.

  • What is the initial step before depositing a phage to the open DSMZ collection?

    Depositors are kindly asked to get in contact with the curators of the phage working group.