Bacteriophages are found everywhere there is bacteria, they can be isolated using a specific type of bacteria that you would like to study but not artificially made because they are viruses.
The plates encourage bacterial cell growth and the phages are placed in a solution that allows them to spread and infect bacteria. The plaques on the plates are indicative of phages infecting bacteria and spreading outward.
Definitely, lytic phages are more effective at quickly killing host bacterial cells because they are able to use host cell mechanisms to produce more phages and split the cell open quickly.
Yes! So phages in this lab can be picked from a plaque using a pipette tip to scratch the surface of the plaques and mix the tip containing phage into a phage buffer solution. This solution is then called a lysate and is diluted by taking 10 micro liters of the initial phage lysate and placing it into a new tube that contains 90 micro liters of phage buffer solution to scale the concentration down by factors of 10. This can be done several times to get the desired dilution. The more diluted the phage lysate, the fewer plaques will form on the plates which is useful for isolation, plaque picking, and determining the plaque morphologies.
– Nice job on your presentation! My question is: Where did the soil sample you used come from?
From right outside the rec center on campus, bacteriophages can be found pretty much everywhere!
Great presentation! Are bacteriophages only something that can be found naturally or can they be made artificially?
Bacteriophages are found everywhere there is bacteria, they can be isolated using a specific type of bacteria that you would like to study but not artificially made because they are viruses.
Good job! How do the plates make the things grow?
The plates encourage bacterial cell growth and the phages are placed in a solution that allows them to spread and infect bacteria. The plaques on the plates are indicative of phages infecting bacteria and spreading outward.
Great job! Would Crspy be effective in killing M. Smegmatis if it was a a lytic phage?
Definitely, lytic phages are more effective at quickly killing host bacterial cells because they are able to use host cell mechanisms to produce more phages and split the cell open quickly.
Could you explain the procedure for a serial dilution?
Yes! So phages in this lab can be picked from a plaque using a pipette tip to scratch the surface of the plaques and mix the tip containing phage into a phage buffer solution. This solution is then called a lysate and is diluted by taking 10 micro liters of the initial phage lysate and placing it into a new tube that contains 90 micro liters of phage buffer solution to scale the concentration down by factors of 10. This can be done several times to get the desired dilution. The more diluted the phage lysate, the fewer plaques will form on the plates which is useful for isolation, plaque picking, and determining the plaque morphologies.