The can be used to protect plants from different types of bacterial disease that mass kill crops. The use of phage is valuable because it prevents farmers from needing to use pesticides and other harmful chemicals which create environmental problems in the area.
I really enjoyed your presentation. Lots of pertinent info was included, and I really liked the future directions that you had come up with. I was curious about what Cluster A phages are usually used for therapy-wise, and if that would change the direction you’re thinking for your future experiments or not.
Cluster A has the most number of phages recorded in it, so plenty have been used in phage therapy. The likelihood of RoryG being selected is low, because it is so similar to so many phages already identified. However, testing a phage’s ability to mutate could be helpful for phage therapy because what makes phages different from antibiotics is that they have the ability to mutate, which increases the likelihood of killing the bacteria which can also mutate.
Hi Erin, that’s a great question! Phages are a type of virus, so like other viruses they can mutate unlike antibiotics. When antibiotics are used to treat infections some bacteria develop a mutation that makes them resistant to antibiotics. That’s when phages are used. Because phage can mutate, a cocktail of different types of phages are used to kill the bacterial infection, the different phages, along with the potential for mutation increase the likelihood of curing the infection.
How would Phages be used in the agriculture field? Do they help cattle or plants grow better? or do they protect them from certain diseases?
The can be used to protect plants from different types of bacterial disease that mass kill crops. The use of phage is valuable because it prevents farmers from needing to use pesticides and other harmful chemicals which create environmental problems in the area.
I really enjoyed your presentation. Lots of pertinent info was included, and I really liked the future directions that you had come up with. I was curious about what Cluster A phages are usually used for therapy-wise, and if that would change the direction you’re thinking for your future experiments or not.
Cluster A has the most number of phages recorded in it, so plenty have been used in phage therapy. The likelihood of RoryG being selected is low, because it is so similar to so many phages already identified. However, testing a phage’s ability to mutate could be helpful for phage therapy because what makes phages different from antibiotics is that they have the ability to mutate, which increases the likelihood of killing the bacteria which can also mutate.
Hi Emma,
What would be the benefit of using a phage over an antibiotic?
Hi Erin, that’s a great question! Phages are a type of virus, so like other viruses they can mutate unlike antibiotics. When antibiotics are used to treat infections some bacteria develop a mutation that makes them resistant to antibiotics. That’s when phages are used. Because phage can mutate, a cocktail of different types of phages are used to kill the bacterial infection, the different phages, along with the potential for mutation increase the likelihood of curing the infection.