We used freeze-dried E. coli Enterobacteria phage T4 (T4) and Enterobacteria phage MS2 (MS2) obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC ref. 11303-B4 & 15597-B1, respectively). Protocols for real time PCR detection of phages TA and MS2 were elaborated in various formats and are described in Supporting Information S2. Briefly, primers and probes targeting T4 phage (T4F CCATCCATAGAGAAAATATCAGAACGA, T4R TAAATAATTCCTCTTTTCCCAGCG, T4probe VIC-AACCAGTAATTTCATCTGCTTCTGATGTGAGGC-TAM-RA) and MS2 phage (MS2F CTCTGAGAGCGGCTCTATTGGT, MS2R GTTCCCTACAACGAGCCTAAATTC, MS2probe VIC-TCAGACACGCGGTCCGCTATAACGA-TAMRA) were designed from genomic sequences. Optimised oligonucleotide concentrations were 10pmol for primers and 4pmol for probes for both T4 and MS2 detection assays.