Once Enceladus is fully characterized and sequenced, we would have a better understanding of the types of bacteria it is able to infect. Given Enceladus is a Mycobacteriophage – it’s host is Mycobacterium smegmatis – it’s likely that Enceladus is able to infect additional bacteria closely related to M. smeg such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and others. As discussed by our class speaker tonight, Harriet Lee, phage that was related to M. tuberculosis was used to treat a bacterial infection in a young girl with cystic fibrosis. Enceladus has the potential to do similar type therapies. Enceladus could also be used to treat other bacterial infections that display upper respiratory like symptoms, assuming common lineage.
Given that you had to work with what you were given with Encleadus, did you learn anything from the failed trials that helped you understand more about the phage?
It was interesting, because we spent a relatively short time working with Enceladus compared to our multiple different soil samples and plaque streaks. Bacteriophage are so much smaller than bacteria and can exist virtually anywhere but my partner and I couldn’t isolate our own species! I don’t think I learned anything specifically about Enceladus from the failed trials, but rather I learned more about research science as a whole: patience (and sometimes luck!).
By the time we adopted Enceladus I was well practiced in all the laboratory protocols and was running simultaneous experiments with Enceladus and still-hopeful-yet-fruitless soil samples of my own every day I was in the lab. In the end, my patience wasn’t enough with this unconventional semester and we had to rely on the results from the Enceladus original founders.
curesymposium.org 
How would a phage such as Enceladus be used in phage therapy if you were able to continue with your research?
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Thank you for your question, Lucy!
Once Enceladus is fully characterized and sequenced, we would have a better understanding of the types of bacteria it is able to infect. Given Enceladus is a Mycobacteriophage – it’s host is Mycobacterium smegmatis – it’s likely that Enceladus is able to infect additional bacteria closely related to M. smeg such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and others. As discussed by our class speaker tonight, Harriet Lee, phage that was related to M. tuberculosis was used to treat a bacterial infection in a young girl with cystic fibrosis. Enceladus has the potential to do similar type therapies. Enceladus could also be used to treat other bacterial infections that display upper respiratory like symptoms, assuming common lineage.
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Given that you had to work with what you were given with Encleadus, did you learn anything from the failed trials that helped you understand more about the phage?
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Thank you for your question, Lindsey!
It was interesting, because we spent a relatively short time working with Enceladus compared to our multiple different soil samples and plaque streaks. Bacteriophage are so much smaller than bacteria and can exist virtually anywhere but my partner and I couldn’t isolate our own species! I don’t think I learned anything specifically about Enceladus from the failed trials, but rather I learned more about research science as a whole: patience (and sometimes luck!).
By the time we adopted Enceladus I was well practiced in all the laboratory protocols and was running simultaneous experiments with Enceladus and still-hopeful-yet-fruitless soil samples of my own every day I was in the lab. In the end, my patience wasn’t enough with this unconventional semester and we had to rely on the results from the Enceladus original founders.
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