This type of phage, a temperate phage, is not as effective as lytic phage when it comes to lysis. However, as the host bacteria is Mycobacterium smegmatis, this phage can be effective for the study of tuberculosis and leprosy because the host bacteria’s are very similar and can act as models.
Are individual phages like LeCap intended to potentially only treat certain kinds of bacterial infections? Relatedly, thinking about future clinical applications, what would be the future direction of this study that you are most interested to see play out?
Individual phages like LeCap are intended to potentially treat certain kinds of bacterial infections. However, this is all dependent on the transition of LeCap to a lytic phage with better phage therapy capabilities. The future direction of this study that would be most interesting to see play out would be the adaptation of LeCap as a phage cocktail, dependent on further testing and the cluster results.
LeCap could be used to treat tuberculosis and leprosy, depending on further testing. This is because the host bacteria, Mycobacterium smegmatis, is very similar to those of these two diseases. As such, LeCap can serve as a good model to study the evolution of these two diseases with the potential ability to aid in treatment.
Sequencing the genome would be the next step in the research because the results from PCR and the cluster type are necessary. If the experiment had gone perfectly, we would’ve been able to obtain this information sooner, but the scientific process of success/failure has led us to this future direction.
Are there specific types of bacteria that this type of phage will be more effective against?
This type of phage, a temperate phage, is not as effective as lytic phage when it comes to lysis. However, as the host bacteria is Mycobacterium smegmatis, this phage can be effective for the study of tuberculosis and leprosy because the host bacteria’s are very similar and can act as models.
Are individual phages like LeCap intended to potentially only treat certain kinds of bacterial infections? Relatedly, thinking about future clinical applications, what would be the future direction of this study that you are most interested to see play out?
Individual phages like LeCap are intended to potentially treat certain kinds of bacterial infections. However, this is all dependent on the transition of LeCap to a lytic phage with better phage therapy capabilities. The future direction of this study that would be most interesting to see play out would be the adaptation of LeCap as a phage cocktail, dependent on further testing and the cluster results.
Good job on the presentation! What infections does LeCap treat?
LeCap could be used to treat tuberculosis and leprosy, depending on further testing. This is because the host bacteria, Mycobacterium smegmatis, is very similar to those of these two diseases. As such, LeCap can serve as a good model to study the evolution of these two diseases with the potential ability to aid in treatment.
How would sequencing the genome be the next step in this research, rather than having done it before this experiment?
Sequencing the genome would be the next step in the research because the results from PCR and the cluster type are necessary. If the experiment had gone perfectly, we would’ve been able to obtain this information sooner, but the scientific process of success/failure has led us to this future direction.