Celebration of Scholars
P49 - Discovery and Genomic Analysis of the Lytic Mycobacterium Phage Wogge42
Name:
Liliana Bednarek
Major: Neuroscience and Biology
Hometown: Batavia, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Name:
Madeline Huff
Major: Biology
Hometown: Woodstock, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Name:
Grace Krueger
Major: Biology
Hometown: Kenosha, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Name:
Ava Lindquist
Major: Biology
Hometown: Kenosha, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Name:
Joshua Manjarrez
Major: Biology
Hometown: Kenosha, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Name:
Ollie Zander
Major: Biology and Paleontology focus
Hometown: Orrock, MN
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect specific bacterial hosts. Phages play a critical role in regulating bacterial populations and are being used therapeutically. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the leading cause of infectious diseases worldwide and has experienced a recent increase of antibiotic-resistant strains, making it a challenge to treat, but phages can provide an alternative treatment. The host Mycobacterium smegmatis, a close relative to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, was used to isolate bacteriophage Wogge42 at Carthage College. Wogge42 is a cluster O bacteriophage. The genome of Wogge42 has 70,899 base pairs which encode 120 genes. Based on electron microscopy, it belongs to the Siphoviridae family and has an elongated tail and a distinct, extended capsid that is specific to cluster O phages. This phage exhibits consistently clear plaques, indicative of its lytic nature. Several bioinformatic tools were used to annotate the genome of Wogge42. PECAAN acts as a toolbox to determine the start points of genes, while also providing detailed information about the potential function of each gene by using NCBI Blast, HHPred, and Phamerator to compare Wogge42 primarily to other phages. The analysis provides valuable insights into phage-host interactions and deepens our understanding of phage diversity, which may contribute to the development of new phage therapies. Further analysis will be completed to better understand the characteristics and potential applications of Wogge42.
Submit date: March 19, 2025, 4:31 p.m.