Great presentation! Are some bacteriophages from different morphotypes inherently better for therapeutic purposes. For example, are bacteriophages from the Siphoviridae family better for therapeutic purposes rather from a bacteriophage from another family?
In general, there isn’t a set morphotype that is “better” for phage therapy. I think it really depends on the target bacteria with determining if a certain shape of phage would be better for infecting the bacteria.
There is a trend with phage morphologies and host bacteria ranges, which is seen through the clusters. This is why we care so much about cluster analysis!
My specific work in the lab was to isolate a phage to move towards having more and more phages isolated and characterized. In general, however, we would ideally be able to use these phages for phage therapy to help in the antibiotic resistance issue and of course introduce a new way of treating infections without harming healthy bacteria!
The different sized plaques indicate whether the phage is lytic or temperate. Lytic phages generally have small plaques because they are very concentrated in killing the bacteria where they are, while temperate phages are larger cloudy plaques, as they replicate and grow with the bacteria before lysing.
Great presentation! Are some bacteriophages from different morphotypes inherently better for therapeutic purposes. For example, are bacteriophages from the Siphoviridae family better for therapeutic purposes rather from a bacteriophage from another family?
In general, there isn’t a set morphotype that is “better” for phage therapy. I think it really depends on the target bacteria with determining if a certain shape of phage would be better for infecting the bacteria.
Do certain phage morphologies have tendencies towards different types of bacteria?
There is a trend with phage morphologies and host bacteria ranges, which is seen through the clusters. This is why we care so much about cluster analysis!
Amazing presentation!
what can this research be used for in the future?
My specific work in the lab was to isolate a phage to move towards having more and more phages isolated and characterized. In general, however, we would ideally be able to use these phages for phage therapy to help in the antibiotic resistance issue and of course introduce a new way of treating infections without harming healthy bacteria!
Really well done with your presentation. What do different sized plaques mean? What does a small plaque compared to a large plaque mean?
The different sized plaques indicate whether the phage is lytic or temperate. Lytic phages generally have small plaques because they are very concentrated in killing the bacteria where they are, while temperate phages are larger cloudy plaques, as they replicate and grow with the bacteria before lysing.