Great question! The significance of the titer is to better understand how well the phages are able to infect and replicate within the host cells. This is important because it allows us to understand how the plaques will form when incubated.
Once implemented, phage therapy would be used against bacterial infections, similar to antibiotics we use now. However, phages could be used as a way to ensure bacterial death while also preventing antibiotic resistance within the bacteria causing infection.
The process of purification is quite interesting. Since the initial lysate contain many different phages, purification allows us to choose plaques containing a single phage so that we can isolate it from the other phages within the sample. This process is done by plating a phage lysate and allowing the phage to incubate. Once incubated, we are able to notice plaques formed within the agar plates. We looked for clearly visible plaques that weren’t crowded by other plaques to make sure we were isolating a single phage. Using a micropipette tip, the plaque was scraped and a new lysate was created containing a single isolated phage.
What was the significance of the titer? You discussed what the titer was but not how it would be used in future experiments.
Great question! The significance of the titer is to better understand how well the phages are able to infect and replicate within the host cells. This is important because it allows us to understand how the plaques will form when incubated.
In the conclusion you stated that this phage could work in phage therapy. How would phage therapy work once it is implemented?
Once implemented, phage therapy would be used against bacterial infections, similar to antibiotics we use now. However, phages could be used as a way to ensure bacterial death while also preventing antibiotic resistance within the bacteria causing infection.
What does the process of purfication look like?
The process of purification is quite interesting. Since the initial lysate contain many different phages, purification allows us to choose plaques containing a single phage so that we can isolate it from the other phages within the sample. This process is done by plating a phage lysate and allowing the phage to incubate. Once incubated, we are able to notice plaques formed within the agar plates. We looked for clearly visible plaques that weren’t crowded by other plaques to make sure we were isolating a single phage. Using a micropipette tip, the plaque was scraped and a new lysate was created containing a single isolated phage.
What does it mean if the plaque is more cloudy?