By performing a restriction digest, we would be able to determine how many cuts each restriction enzyme made in the DNA. From there, we would compare that with an online database that would categorize our phage into a specific cluster based off of similar phages with similar cut patterns. We would then perform PCR to ensure that primers from that cluster would be able to anneal to our phage’s DNA. This would help us have a pretty good idea of the cluster of our phage, but we would be unable to know for certain until our phage was sequenced.
Since our phage is temperate, it would be more difficult to use in phage therapy, since the repressors would need to be deactivated in order for lytic genes to be expressed and lyse the cell. If our phage was going to be used in phage therapy for our future directions, we would need to modify it that so that it would be lytic.
In terms of future directions, if the two tasks written were completed, what else would be needed before the bacteriophage could be used as a therapy in humans?
After finding out the cluster information, we would be able to determine the host range of our phage’s genome. If our phage was able to infect M. tuberculosis or a different related pathogen, we would need to find a method in which to administer our phage cocktail, and test our treatment to see if it was capable of curing infection within animals before administering it to humans.
curesymposium.org 
Is there something specific that triggers whether or not a bacteriophage goes through a lytic or lysogenic life cycle?
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Environmental stressors can trigger the deactivation of the repressor gene, meaning that lytic genes will be expressed.
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How would performing a restriction digest and later a PCR help determine the classification of your phage?
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By performing a restriction digest, we would be able to determine how many cuts each restriction enzyme made in the DNA. From there, we would compare that with an online database that would categorize our phage into a specific cluster based off of similar phages with similar cut patterns. We would then perform PCR to ensure that primers from that cluster would be able to anneal to our phage’s DNA. This would help us have a pretty good idea of the cluster of our phage, but we would be unable to know for certain until our phage was sequenced.
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What is the significance of your phage being temperate, what does it mean in relation to your future directions?
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Since our phage is temperate, it would be more difficult to use in phage therapy, since the repressors would need to be deactivated in order for lytic genes to be expressed and lyse the cell. If our phage was going to be used in phage therapy for our future directions, we would need to modify it that so that it would be lytic.
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In terms of future directions, if the two tasks written were completed, what else would be needed before the bacteriophage could be used as a therapy in humans?
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After finding out the cluster information, we would be able to determine the host range of our phage’s genome. If our phage was able to infect M. tuberculosis or a different related pathogen, we would need to find a method in which to administer our phage cocktail, and test our treatment to see if it was capable of curing infection within animals before administering it to humans.
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