Lytic phages look clear since they lyse the bacteria. If the phages were not lytic, they would be lysogenic. Lysogenic phages would look like a bulls-eye. The center would be turbid and cloudy while being surrounded by a clear ring. Lytic and lysogenic phages look differently since they take on different routes/processes in destroying bacteria.
Mutagenisis introduces mutations into a phage. In the case of phage therapy, we would be able to have more information and knowledge in case a phage does get mutated. We will be able to know the effects of the mutation on the phage. Mutagenesis would provide a deeper understanding of specific phages therefore making them more efficient for phage therapy for example.
There was no expectation set of the type of phage we would find. The phages were collected from a dirt sample we ourselves collected. We worked with M.Smeg. The only expectation I had is that the phage would attack M.Smeg. Other than that, the phage could have been completely different to the one we identified.
The most challenging part in this lab was to actually obtain a phage from our dirt samples. Obtaining results was difficult and required many trials. The only human error we struggled with was contamination. This made us redo our procedures.
curesymposium.org 
What were the methods used for isolating the phages?
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The phages were isolated through a plaque assay.
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What were the techniques used to isolate the phages?
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The phages were isolated through a plaque assay. M.Smeg and top Agar were mixed with the phages and left to incubate.
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What would the plaques have looked like if the phage weren’t lytic? I’m a little confused on how clear and defined edges indicate a lytic phage.
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Lytic phages look clear since they lyse the bacteria. If the phages were not lytic, they would be lysogenic. Lysogenic phages would look like a bulls-eye. The center would be turbid and cloudy while being surrounded by a clear ring. Lytic and lysogenic phages look differently since they take on different routes/processes in destroying bacteria.
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Do you have any complications in mind that could be solved via mutagenesis?
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Mutagenisis introduces mutations into a phage. In the case of phage therapy, we would be able to have more information and knowledge in case a phage does get mutated. We will be able to know the effects of the mutation on the phage. Mutagenesis would provide a deeper understanding of specific phages therefore making them more efficient for phage therapy for example.
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What expectations did you have, based on your phage research, about which kind of phage you would find?
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There was no expectation set of the type of phage we would find. The phages were collected from a dirt sample we ourselves collected. We worked with M.Smeg. The only expectation I had is that the phage would attack M.Smeg. Other than that, the phage could have been completely different to the one we identified.
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What were some difficulties when performing your tests? Any human error?
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The most challenging part in this lab was to actually obtain a phage from our dirt samples. Obtaining results was difficult and required many trials. The only human error we struggled with was contamination. This made us redo our procedures.
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