Hi Colin! Fantastic presentation, I’m glad your experiments went so smoothly. Do you believe identifying the cluster of Cardef as Cluster A will be able to help future researchers be more efficient in deciding whether or not it will be a successful candidate for phage therapy? Basically, is cluster a determining factor in how qualified a phage is for infecting a bacteria?
Thank you Jenny, identifying that Cardef is in Cluster A would be very helpful in deciding whether or not our phage would be a successful candidate for phage therapy. However, we did not complete PCR procedure meaning we cannot conclude with certainty that Cardef truly is a Cluster A phage. But yes, knowing the cluster of a phage is useful for understanding its candidacy for phage therapy since it will have similar characteristics to the other phages in its cluster.
At around .20 seconds, you said there are 2 lifecycles, lytic and temperate. Isn’t temperate a type of phage classified by its morphology instead of its lifecycle?
Yes, temperate phages can either enter the lysogenic or lytic lifecycle. In the lysogenic lifecycle the phage creates a prophage by integrating its DNA into the bacterial cell’s genome where lytic functions are controlled by a genetic switch. In the lytic lifecycle the phage’s DNA is immediately expressed in the bacteria and phage are produced which lyse the cell releasing the new phages. Lytic phages always enter the lytic cycle. Sorry if that was confusing for you.
At around 20 seconds, you said that there are 2 lifecycles, temperate and lytic. Isn’t temperate a classification of phage based on its morphology as opposed to a lifecycle?
How does identifying the cluster and sub cluster that this phage is a part of benefit your research? What does it mean to be a part of these clusters and sub clusters?
Identifying the cluster and subcluster of phages allows for researchers to essentially assign “families” to phages. For example, phages in subcluster A1 are generally temperate siphoviridae, mycobacteriophages, with short/medium tails, that form turbid plaques on lawns of M. smegmatis. A database of phage with classified clusters allows for researchers to easily access phages with similar, desired characteristics.
Thank you Alli. Phage therapy is the use of phage to treat bacterial infections. Since phage infect and kill specific bacteria, they can be used intravenously to treat bacterial infections. For example, if an individual was infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis they could be treated with a dosage of lytic mycobacteriophage that infects and lyses the bacteria, curing the infection. In theory phage therapy can treat any bacterial infection, however we have not currently isolated and classified phages that infect most bacterium. As the database of classified phages expands, the promise of phage therapy will only increase.
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Hi Colin! Fantastic presentation, I’m glad your experiments went so smoothly. Do you believe identifying the cluster of Cardef as Cluster A will be able to help future researchers be more efficient in deciding whether or not it will be a successful candidate for phage therapy? Basically, is cluster a determining factor in how qualified a phage is for infecting a bacteria?
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Thank you Jenny, identifying that Cardef is in Cluster A would be very helpful in deciding whether or not our phage would be a successful candidate for phage therapy. However, we did not complete PCR procedure meaning we cannot conclude with certainty that Cardef truly is a Cluster A phage. But yes, knowing the cluster of a phage is useful for understanding its candidacy for phage therapy since it will have similar characteristics to the other phages in its cluster.
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At around .20 seconds, you said there are 2 lifecycles, lytic and temperate. Isn’t temperate a type of phage classified by its morphology instead of its lifecycle?
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Yes, temperate phages can either enter the lysogenic or lytic lifecycle. In the lysogenic lifecycle the phage creates a prophage by integrating its DNA into the bacterial cell’s genome where lytic functions are controlled by a genetic switch. In the lytic lifecycle the phage’s DNA is immediately expressed in the bacteria and phage are produced which lyse the cell releasing the new phages. Lytic phages always enter the lytic cycle. Sorry if that was confusing for you.
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At around 20 seconds, you said that there are 2 lifecycles, temperate and lytic. Isn’t temperate a classification of phage based on its morphology as opposed to a lifecycle?
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How does identifying the cluster and sub cluster that this phage is a part of benefit your research? What does it mean to be a part of these clusters and sub clusters?
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Identifying the cluster and subcluster of phages allows for researchers to essentially assign “families” to phages. For example, phages in subcluster A1 are generally temperate siphoviridae, mycobacteriophages, with short/medium tails, that form turbid plaques on lawns of M. smegmatis. A database of phage with classified clusters allows for researchers to easily access phages with similar, desired characteristics.
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You had a wonderful presentation! Great job! Very well spoken!
My question to you is about phage therapy. How is it done and why is it done? I’m so curious!
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Thank you Alli. Phage therapy is the use of phage to treat bacterial infections. Since phage infect and kill specific bacteria, they can be used intravenously to treat bacterial infections. For example, if an individual was infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis they could be treated with a dosage of lytic mycobacteriophage that infects and lyses the bacteria, curing the infection. In theory phage therapy can treat any bacterial infection, however we have not currently isolated and classified phages that infect most bacterium. As the database of classified phages expands, the promise of phage therapy will only increase.
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