The consequence would be how much bacteria survive after exposure to each type of phage. If a phage is temperate, some of the phages will enter the lytic cycle and kill bacterial cells and some of the phages will enter the lysogenic cycle, leaving the bacteria alive and free to replicate. If the phage is lytic, upon coming into contact with any bacterial host it will kill the bacteria very quickly.
That’s a great question! I’m not sure to be completely honest, but I think that it would be pretty specific to P1 cluster phages, as even among phages the structure and sequence of the immunity repressor gene varies widely.
The immunity repressor gene produces a repressor protein that binds to the phage DNA in the bacterial genome and prevents expression during the lysogenic cycle so that the bacterial host can replicate as normal without producing phages until some external event triggers the removal of the repressor and the lytic cycle begins.
I think that this data, if confirmed as right now it’s really just a guess and no actual lab work has been done to support it, could be used to benefit phage therapy. For phage therapy, you generally need a lytic phage to try and kill all the bacteria, so if you found a temperate phage that otherwise fit your patient perfectly, you could possibly try to mutate the immunity repressor in the same manner we find here and then use it.
Hi Chris, great presentation. What are the consequences of a phage being lytic versus lysogenic?
The consequence would be how much bacteria survive after exposure to each type of phage. If a phage is temperate, some of the phages will enter the lytic cycle and kill bacterial cells and some of the phages will enter the lysogenic cycle, leaving the bacteria alive and free to replicate. If the phage is lytic, upon coming into contact with any bacterial host it will kill the bacteria very quickly.
Could better understanding of mutation in immune repressing genes in pages translate to immunosuppressant properties of pathogens in other organisms?
That’s a great question! I’m not sure to be completely honest, but I think that it would be pretty specific to P1 cluster phages, as even among phages the structure and sequence of the immunity repressor gene varies widely.
Nice presentation, what is the role of immunity repressor genes?
The immunity repressor gene produces a repressor protein that binds to the phage DNA in the bacterial genome and prevents expression during the lysogenic cycle so that the bacterial host can replicate as normal without producing phages until some external event triggers the removal of the repressor and the lytic cycle begins.
Great presentation! How can this data be used to support research in the field?
I think that this data, if confirmed as right now it’s really just a guess and no actual lab work has been done to support it, could be used to benefit phage therapy. For phage therapy, you generally need a lytic phage to try and kill all the bacteria, so if you found a temperate phage that otherwise fit your patient perfectly, you could possibly try to mutate the immunity repressor in the same manner we find here and then use it.