Thank you! I am not sure what the exact number of clusters is, but there is a huge amount of clusters when you take into consideration the sub clusters as well. The cluster identification itself is not relevant to its effectiveness as a therapy, however some clusters of phages may be more effective than others depending on the characteristics of that specific cluster!
Hi Jay! The different classifications for phage clusters are identified as letters (ex. cluster A) and the sub clusters are identified as the letter of the cluster plus a number (ex. A3). These clusters are relevant to phage therapy because if one phage in a cluster has good characteristics for phage therapy, it is likely that other phages in that cluster have the same characteristics. By grouping them by their genomes, it gives us more options when looking for phages for a phage therapy cocktail!
Thank you for your question! The two most common phage morphologies are Siphoviridae and Myoviridae. We would be interested in characterizing these morphologies because it is another way to characterize the phages and group them based on similarity because usually phages in the same clusters have the same morphologies.
Hi, great question! The life cycle that a phage undergoes does affect its potential to be used therapeutically because only lytic phages will always lyse and therefore kill the host cell! In a temperate phage, it could undergo the lytic or lysogenic life cycle and in the lysogenic life cycle the phage does not lyse the host cell.
Nice work Emma! What different clusters of phages are there and how is that cluster identification relevant to effectiveness as a therapy?
Thank you! I am not sure what the exact number of clusters is, but there is a huge amount of clusters when you take into consideration the sub clusters as well. The cluster identification itself is not relevant to its effectiveness as a therapy, however some clusters of phages may be more effective than others depending on the characteristics of that specific cluster!
Hey Emma, nice work! What are the different classifications for phage clusters? And what are their relevance for suitability as a phage therapy?
Hi Jay! The different classifications for phage clusters are identified as letters (ex. cluster A) and the sub clusters are identified as the letter of the cluster plus a number (ex. A3). These clusters are relevant to phage therapy because if one phage in a cluster has good characteristics for phage therapy, it is likely that other phages in that cluster have the same characteristics. By grouping them by their genomes, it gives us more options when looking for phages for a phage therapy cocktail!
What are the different types of phage morphologies and why might we be interested in characterizing a phage’s morphology?
Thank you for your question! The two most common phage morphologies are Siphoviridae and Myoviridae. We would be interested in characterizing these morphologies because it is another way to characterize the phages and group them based on similarity because usually phages in the same clusters have the same morphologies.
Does whether a phage is classified as lytic or temperate affect its potential to be used therapeutically?
Hi, great question! The life cycle that a phage undergoes does affect its potential to be used therapeutically because only lytic phages will always lyse and therefore kill the host cell! In a temperate phage, it could undergo the lytic or lysogenic life cycle and in the lysogenic life cycle the phage does not lyse the host cell.