Could you elaborate on why the data or DNA fragments you isolated were inadequate for accomplishing your aim of sequencing the phage? What exactly went wrong in the methods/what was it about the phage that made this difficult?
Dear Ava,
Unfortunately, the data from the electrophoresis trials showed no signs of fragmentation in the samples of phage DNA isolated. I believe the DNA was not quality enough to show fragmentation in testing because it lacked the necessary signals to show separation in the fragments. This was likely from a combination of contamination of the sterile field lacking and the sample undergoing the lysogenic cycle. If the Mycobacterium smegmatis were to have been a more stable host for the sample, then the phages may have been able to undergo lytic growth furthermore for sequencing.
Dear Avery,
I believe that there is industrial relevance for phage therapy due to its lack of toxicity. There are problems that phages could solve using their ability to lyse the bacterium and ultimately treat an infection. This poses an enormous benefit for the medical field to help against the spread of virus replication. There is a lack of knowledge on the specific mechanisms by which phage will act against treatable and antibiotic-resistant infection. Phage therapy is a targeted treatment in eukaryotes that is underdeveloped, making cocktail therapy difficult to remedy for animals and humans. The concentration needed for the patients’ goal in treatment using phage cocktail therapy is still an unknown specificity. The dosage depends on the treatment purpose and type of phage used. Due to the lack of specific receptors in the eukaryotic cells, the host range for bacteriophages is much smaller than antibiotics. Oftentimes, the system will eliminate bacteriophages, since they are recognized as foreign to the host. The discovery of antibiotics tanked the surge for phage research. Nevertheless, since its discovery in 1917, phage infection has provoked the characterization of genomes through mapping the DNA sequences. Bacteriophage research is still important as an alternative therapy if bacterium gain resistance against antibiotics.
Could you elaborate on why the data or DNA fragments you isolated were inadequate for accomplishing your aim of sequencing the phage? What exactly went wrong in the methods/what was it about the phage that made this difficult?
Dear Ava,
Unfortunately, the data from the electrophoresis trials showed no signs of fragmentation in the samples of phage DNA isolated. I believe the DNA was not quality enough to show fragmentation in testing because it lacked the necessary signals to show separation in the fragments. This was likely from a combination of contamination of the sterile field lacking and the sample undergoing the lysogenic cycle. If the Mycobacterium smegmatis were to have been a more stable host for the sample, then the phages may have been able to undergo lytic growth furthermore for sequencing.
Why was the experiment relevant? What’s the problem that’s trying to be solved?
Dear Avery,
I believe that there is industrial relevance for phage therapy due to its lack of toxicity. There are problems that phages could solve using their ability to lyse the bacterium and ultimately treat an infection. This poses an enormous benefit for the medical field to help against the spread of virus replication. There is a lack of knowledge on the specific mechanisms by which phage will act against treatable and antibiotic-resistant infection. Phage therapy is a targeted treatment in eukaryotes that is underdeveloped, making cocktail therapy difficult to remedy for animals and humans. The concentration needed for the patients’ goal in treatment using phage cocktail therapy is still an unknown specificity. The dosage depends on the treatment purpose and type of phage used. Due to the lack of specific receptors in the eukaryotic cells, the host range for bacteriophages is much smaller than antibiotics. Oftentimes, the system will eliminate bacteriophages, since they are recognized as foreign to the host. The discovery of antibiotics tanked the surge for phage research. Nevertheless, since its discovery in 1917, phage infection has provoked the characterization of genomes through mapping the DNA sequences. Bacteriophage research is still important as an alternative therapy if bacterium gain resistance against antibiotics.