Phages: A New Productive Force for Precision Bacterial Targeting

Comparison Dimension	Agricultural Antibiotics	Phage-Based Biopesticides
Mode of Action	Broad-spectrum antibacterial activity with non-selective killing	Precisely targets specific pathogenic bacteria without harming beneficial microbes
Risk of Resistance	May induce bacterial resistance genes, which can be horizontally transferred via plasmids	Phages can co-evolve with their bacterial hosts, resulting in a relatively low risk of resistance
Environmental Residues	May persist in the environment and contaminate soil and water bodies	Rapidly inactivated in the absence of host bacteria, with minimal residue and environmental burden
Ecological Impact	May disrupt the structure of native microbial communities	Helps regulate microbial community structure and supports soil health restoration