The shape of a phage, specifically its tail, will determine if it can attach to/ infect a strain of bacteria. Like most things in nature that require specificity, bacteria require specific tails and tail fibers for infection.
If I found out what cluster my phage is assigned to, I would know what phages are similar to mine. I can hypothesize the bacterial strains my phage can target depending on what strains of bacteria are targeted by the most similar phages.
Serial dilutions allow us to see individual plaques from a phage. Diluting until individual plaques are produced is important because it shows the presence of one type of phage. A large plaque may be a result of different types of phages in a sample, so we make sure that the size and clearness of the individual plaques are consistent.
curesymposium.org 
What is the significance of the three morphologies of phages?
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The shape of a phage, specifically its tail, will determine if it can attach to/ infect a strain of bacteria. Like most things in nature that require specificity, bacteria require specific tails and tail fibers for infection.
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How would determining what cluster the phage studied belongs to affect what it can be used for?
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If I found out what cluster my phage is assigned to, I would know what phages are similar to mine. I can hypothesize the bacterial strains my phage can target depending on what strains of bacteria are targeted by the most similar phages.
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Hey Josh, great presentation. How did serial dilution help in purifying and isolating a phage?
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Serial dilutions allow us to see individual plaques from a phage. Diluting until individual plaques are produced is important because it shows the presence of one type of phage. A large plaque may be a result of different types of phages in a sample, so we make sure that the size and clearness of the individual plaques are consistent.
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