In terms of phage therapy, lysogenic (temperate) phages are avoided in therapy due to the concern that the genetic reassembly of bacteria host genome could cause new mutations., so it is important to know what life cycle a phage is in before choosing it for therapy.
Viper was chosen from a set of potential phages to adopt and was not chosen based on any characteristics specific to that phage. We only knew the names of the adoptable phages before we chose them.
What is the significance of Viper being lytic rather than lysogenic? You have identified that Viper is lytic, but what does that mean for using the bacteriophage in the big picture?
In phage therapy, phages that enter the lysogenic life cycle are not typically considered because of the concern that the genetic reassembly of bacterial host done during lysogeny will cause new mutations of the host bacteria and potentially make them more virulent.
We did not find out enough information about our phage to determine the potential host range, but that would be done by determining what phages are similar or in the same subcluster. Clusters are groups of phages that have genomic similarities, and in subclusters even more genes are shared amongst the included phages. If we found out our phages subcluster, it would be able to be compared to the known phages in that subcluster and their host ranges.
The next piece of information necessary for phage therapy would be the host range, or which mycobacterium species Viper infects. Since phage only infect the specific bacteria within their host range, phage therapy can be specific in which bacteria are targeted, in contrast to antibiotics that run the risk of killing beneficial bacteria. So knowing the host range would lead to testing about the effectiveness of the phage in the infection of a specific bacteria compared to other phages that infect that bacteria.
What is the significance of a phage being lytic or lysogenic?
In terms of phage therapy, lysogenic (temperate) phages are avoided in therapy due to the concern that the genetic reassembly of bacteria host genome could cause new mutations., so it is important to know what life cycle a phage is in before choosing it for therapy.
Why did you decide to choose the viper phage? what made you think it would be a good phage to research?
Viper was chosen from a set of potential phages to adopt and was not chosen based on any characteristics specific to that phage. We only knew the names of the adoptable phages before we chose them.
What is the significance of Viper being lytic rather than lysogenic? You have identified that Viper is lytic, but what does that mean for using the bacteriophage in the big picture?
In phage therapy, phages that enter the lysogenic life cycle are not typically considered because of the concern that the genetic reassembly of bacterial host done during lysogeny will cause new mutations of the host bacteria and potentially make them more virulent.
What microbacterium could possibly be in the host range? Did you have any unexpected results?
We did not find out enough information about our phage to determine the potential host range, but that would be done by determining what phages are similar or in the same subcluster. Clusters are groups of phages that have genomic similarities, and in subclusters even more genes are shared amongst the included phages. If we found out our phages subcluster, it would be able to be compared to the known phages in that subcluster and their host ranges.
What experinment do you think you can do in the future to determine if it can be used in a phage therapy
The next piece of information necessary for phage therapy would be the host range, or which mycobacterium species Viper infects. Since phage only infect the specific bacteria within their host range, phage therapy can be specific in which bacteria are targeted, in contrast to antibiotics that run the risk of killing beneficial bacteria. So knowing the host range would lead to testing about the effectiveness of the phage in the infection of a specific bacteria compared to other phages that infect that bacteria.
Great job Alex! You should be so proud of all that you and Eitan have accomplished this semester!
Thanks for the help this semester Kylie!