We chose Myobacteria smegmatis as our host bacteria because it is found in soil and it is not pathogenic. M. smeg is also similar to Myobacteria tuberculosis and leprae
Thank you! if the difference was greater than 20nm, our phage would have a different morphotype- either myoviridae (the tail is shorter than siphoviridae and it has a baseplate) or podoviridae (short and stubby tail). Having a different phage could potentially lead to different results!
Yes! the first soil sample that I collected unfortunately did not contain any phage. as a result, my lab partner and I collected another soil sample from a different location on campus!
Are certain types of soils more or less likely to have bacteria phage given the nutrients in the soil. For example would a higher nutrient soil with more organic matter have a greater chance to have a phage?
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Why did you choose mycobacterium smegmatis for your experiment?
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We chose Myobacteria smegmatis as our host bacteria because it is found in soil and it is not pathogenic. M. smeg is also similar to Myobacteria tuberculosis and leprae
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Great job! If the length of the head and tail were larger or smaller would that have yielded different results?
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Thank you! if the difference was greater than 20nm, our phage would have a different morphotype- either myoviridae (the tail is shorter than siphoviridae and it has a baseplate) or podoviridae (short and stubby tail). Having a different phage could potentially lead to different results!
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What is the titer that you mentioned?
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our high titer lysate had a concentration of 2.73×10^10 pfu/mL. pfu (plaque forming units) refers to the number of active phages in our phage lysate.
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Do you think where you got soil from effected the chances of phage being there.
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Yes! the first soil sample that I collected unfortunately did not contain any phage. as a result, my lab partner and I collected another soil sample from a different location on campus!
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Are certain types of soils more or less likely to have bacteria phage given the nutrients in the soil. For example would a higher nutrient soil with more organic matter have a greater chance to have a phage?
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