Plaques are the areas in which the bacteria has been lysed by the bacteriophages. These plaques are normally circular, and their appearance can reveal whether the bacteriophage is lytic or lysogenic. If the bacteriophage is lytic, it will produce clear plaques because it has lysed all of the bacteria in a given area. If the bacteriophage is lysogenic, it will produce cloudy or halo-like plaques because some but not all of the bacteria has been lysed.
A titer is a way to express concentration. We found the titer of our phage lysate, which expressed the concentration of phages. The units for the high titer lysate were plaque forming units per ml, meaning that the higher the number, the denser the plaques are and thus the more bacteriophages there are.
More bacteriophages are needed for phage therapy because bacteriophages tend to have a very narrow host range, and scientists want to be able to treat as many types of bacterial infections as they can. The more bacteriophages that are characterized, the more likely that at least one of these bacteriophages can infect a specific bacteria that is causing a bacterial infection.
Since phages are able to infect bacteria cells and have co-evolved with their hosts, they can become a replacement for antibiotics. Antibiotics do not have specific types of bacteria that they target and thus can damage the good bacteria in one’s body; furthermore, we have seen a great rise in antibiotic bacterial infections in recent years. Bacteriophages are great for treating bacterial infections as bacteria are must less likely to become resistant to them and they are host-specific.
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Why did you name your phage MrKnightWhoSaysNi?
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I am not entirely sure because my lab partner chose it, but I believe it is a reference from Monty Python!
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What do plaques in bacteriophages signify?
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Plaques are the areas in which the bacteria has been lysed by the bacteriophages. These plaques are normally circular, and their appearance can reveal whether the bacteriophage is lytic or lysogenic. If the bacteriophage is lytic, it will produce clear plaques because it has lysed all of the bacteria in a given area. If the bacteriophage is lysogenic, it will produce cloudy or halo-like plaques because some but not all of the bacteria has been lysed.
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What exactly is a tighter?
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A titer is a way to express concentration. We found the titer of our phage lysate, which expressed the concentration of phages. The units for the high titer lysate were plaque forming units per ml, meaning that the higher the number, the denser the plaques are and thus the more bacteriophages there are.
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Why are more bacteriophages needed for phage therapy?
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More bacteriophages are needed for phage therapy because bacteriophages tend to have a very narrow host range, and scientists want to be able to treat as many types of bacterial infections as they can. The more bacteriophages that are characterized, the more likely that at least one of these bacteriophages can infect a specific bacteria that is causing a bacterial infection.
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Do you have any suggestions for the target hosts of bacteria you’d like to test your phage for other than mycobacterium?
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We would like to test our phage on bacteria such as E. coli, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Mycobacterium chelonae.
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what is the significance of the phages ability to infect mycobacterium
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Since phages are able to infect bacteria cells and have co-evolved with their hosts, they can become a replacement for antibiotics. Antibiotics do not have specific types of bacteria that they target and thus can damage the good bacteria in one’s body; furthermore, we have seen a great rise in antibiotic bacterial infections in recent years. Bacteriophages are great for treating bacterial infections as bacteria are must less likely to become resistant to them and they are host-specific.
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