#28: Scream, Shout, and Annotate HankSprout: an EA1 Bacteriophage — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

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Kim Instenes
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Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

#28: Scream, Shout, and Annotate HankSprout: an EA1 Bacteriophage

Name: Tyler Hartmann
Major: Biology
Hometown: Spring Grove, IL
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Name: Shannon Heitschmidt
Major: Biology
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Name: Juliana Macauley
Major: Biology
Hometown: Joliet, IL
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Name: Nadia Musaitef
Major: Biology
Hometown: Kenosha, WI
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Name: Anna Polietaieva
Major: Biology, Chemistry
Hometown: Ukraine
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Name: Julia Rieckmann
Major: Biology
Hometown: Pardeeville, WI
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Abstract

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect host bacterial cells. Unable to replicate independently, phages inject their DNA into the host cell to reproduce. Phages can be utilized as an alternative to antibiotics to treat bacterial infections and help combat antibiotic resistance. A soil sample from Carthage College was isolated and purified into a single phage, HankSprout, using Microbacterium foliorum as its bacterial host. HankSprout is a siphoviridae phage with a long, flexible tail that forms turbid plaques. Based on its genomic sequence, HankSprout is a member of the EA1 subcluster. Its genome is 41,434 base pairs long with circularly permuted ends, containing 64 annotated genes, and a GC content of 63.4%. HankSprout is unique because the 8th gene in the genome is a novel gene, otherwise known as an orpham. There appears to be a potential mutation in the region between the orpham and the next open reading frame resulting in a truncated version of gene 9 in HankSprout. This study utilized the SEA PHAGES applications Phamerator and PECAAN, which synthesize data using numerous bioinformatic tools, including HHPRED and NCBI Blast. Further investigations into possible lysogen formation by HankSprout and independent bioinformatic-based projects focusing on phylogenetic relationships and other genomic characteristics are being performed throughout the semester.

Poster file