The complete genome of Bacillus phage Saddex was determined and annotated in this study. Saddex has distinct sections with similarities to other Bacillus phages, such as Kida, even though these phages were isolated more than 800 km apart by separate laboratories.
Tomato and BaseballField are Bacillus bacteriophages that were isolated and annotated by students in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Phage Hunters program. Tomato has a unique truncation of the tape measure gene that is not found in other closely related C1 Bacillus phages. BaseballField is a strictly lytic phage with a compact genome of 26 kb.
Discovery of antibiotics has revolutionized the 20th century medicine, and has been one of the most potent methods to treat bacterial infections. Before antibiotics, infectious disease was the number one killer worldwide, in fact, bacterial infections killed more people than World War I. Hence, it took the world by a storm when certain bacteria started to develop their own defense in their war against antibiotics. Through a phenomenon called antibiotic resistance many bacteria commonly known as “superbugs” are able to overcome the treatment, and still can pose a threat to humanity.
Dr. Greguske’s research team at Saint Anselm College are turning to a novel approach of phage therapy to combat these lethal infections. The aim of the lab is to study the host-pathogen interface pathogenesis in order to utilize that mechanism the virus uses to specifically target and kill the bacteria, to ultimately treat the bacterial infection.
We isolated, purified, and conducted a biostability test of the newly found bacteriophage from the environmental sample. We extracted the phage’s DNA and optimized a protocol so that Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) can be used to determine the bacteriophage DNA’s molecular weight. Upon doing so, we also have registered the phage into the virus database as SH1, and our next step is to get the bacteriophages’ genome sequenced at Dartmouth College, cross examine the database for the phage, and annotate its genome.
Bacillus phage Maceta was isolated from the soil of commercially purchased annual flowers using the host Bacillus thuringiensis serovar kurstaki. Isolated DNA was then sequenced and annotated.
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