Knowing about the phage’s cluster reveals information about the genome. Phages in the same cluster share 50% of their genome, and phages in the same subcluster share 70% of their genome. Knowing this information, it is much easier to pick phages to be utilized for phage therapy from the vast database of archived phages. For instance, if you know that a phage in the A1 cluster is successful in lysing a certain bacterial strain, it is likely that another A1 phage would also have this capability and could be used for this kind of phage therapy.
Yes, temperate phages can be used in other ways other than just lysis. Temperate phages can be used to detect pathogens, determining if phage therapy needs to be done. It is also possible that temperate phages can be used to alter the bacterial genome, since they integrate their DNA into the bacterial DNA.
A lytic phage is one that can only go through the lytic lifecycle, which immediately lyses the bacterial cell it infects. Unlike temperate phages, lytic phages lack a repressor protein, which prevents phage DNA replication as it enters the bacterial cell, and the protein integrase, which inserts the phage DNA into the bacterial genome. Due to this, phage DNA is immediately replicated as it is inserted into the bacterial cell, assembling viral proteins that lyse the bacteria. Lytic phages are so important to this type of research because they are optimal for phage therapy, due to this capability.
Nice job. Silly question since I haven’t taken phage lab; given that the genome has to be altered for this phage to be useful, would it be better to continue this line of experiments or to look for another phage to work with?
I can’t fully answer this question because a lot is unknown about bacteriophage Ruumo, since I was unable to determine the cluster of the phage, the optimal conditions for this phage, the host range, and many other qualities that would determine if it would be a good candidate for phage therapy, so it is difficult to determine its efficacy in phage therapy relative to other archived phages. I don’t think that temperate phages should be ruled out for phage therapy, however, because genetic modification is something that has been done to other temperate phages that have undergone phage therapy, and there are many journal articles about studies that have done this very thing. Some temperate phages have a wider host range than other, available, lytic phages, which make them better candidates for phage therapy for certain bacterial infections, despite them needing the extra step of genome alteration.
curesymposium.org 
Great job! What is the purpose of characterizing the phage by the cluster it falls under?
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Knowing about the phage’s cluster reveals information about the genome. Phages in the same cluster share 50% of their genome, and phages in the same subcluster share 70% of their genome. Knowing this information, it is much easier to pick phages to be utilized for phage therapy from the vast database of archived phages. For instance, if you know that a phage in the A1 cluster is successful in lysing a certain bacterial strain, it is likely that another A1 phage would also have this capability and could be used for this kind of phage therapy.
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Nice presentation! Do you think that temperate phages could be used for purposes other than killing bacteria?
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Yes, temperate phages can be used in other ways other than just lysis. Temperate phages can be used to detect pathogens, determining if phage therapy needs to be done. It is also possible that temperate phages can be used to alter the bacterial genome, since they integrate their DNA into the bacterial DNA.
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Great presentation! What is a lytic phage and what would be the importance of a lytic phage in this research?
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A lytic phage is one that can only go through the lytic lifecycle, which immediately lyses the bacterial cell it infects. Unlike temperate phages, lytic phages lack a repressor protein, which prevents phage DNA replication as it enters the bacterial cell, and the protein integrase, which inserts the phage DNA into the bacterial genome. Due to this, phage DNA is immediately replicated as it is inserted into the bacterial cell, assembling viral proteins that lyse the bacteria. Lytic phages are so important to this type of research because they are optimal for phage therapy, due to this capability.
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Nice job. Silly question since I haven’t taken phage lab; given that the genome has to be altered for this phage to be useful, would it be better to continue this line of experiments or to look for another phage to work with?
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I can’t fully answer this question because a lot is unknown about bacteriophage Ruumo, since I was unable to determine the cluster of the phage, the optimal conditions for this phage, the host range, and many other qualities that would determine if it would be a good candidate for phage therapy, so it is difficult to determine its efficacy in phage therapy relative to other archived phages. I don’t think that temperate phages should be ruled out for phage therapy, however, because genetic modification is something that has been done to other temperate phages that have undergone phage therapy, and there are many journal articles about studies that have done this very thing. Some temperate phages have a wider host range than other, available, lytic phages, which make them better candidates for phage therapy for certain bacterial infections, despite them needing the extra step of genome alteration.
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