Slowly but “Surely”: The Quest for Truth Behind a Cluster B1 Mycobacteriophage — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

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:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Slowly but “Surely”: The Quest for Truth Behind a Cluster B1 Mycobacteriophage

Name: Olivia DeRoach
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Ashwaubenon, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Name: Krista Sreniawski
Major: Biology
Hometown: St. Charles, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Name: Aileen Szczepanski
Major: Biology and Chemistry
Hometown: Kenosha, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Name: Becca Thomas
Major: Neuroscience and Psychology
Hometown: Cottage Grove, MN
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Abstract

In the world there are billions of creatures roaming, some of which are visible to the naked eye, and others are not. Within the category of invisible beings are bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria. A mycobacteriophage is a virus that specifically infects mycobacterium, such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A total of 56 phages were isolated from soil and water samples using M. smegmatis. Individual populations were isolated through a series of purification steps including enrichment, streak tests, dilution purification, and titer assays. DNA isolation was performed to determine the amount of DNA available for sequencing. Electron microscopy was used in imaging phage populations to determine tail length and capsid diameter. Surely, a siphoviridae mycobacteriophage, was one of the phages that was isolated and had its genome completely sequenced. Bioinformatic tools, such as DNA Master and Phamerator, were used to predict gene products and their functions. Surely’s genome is circularly permuted, with a length of 68,888 base pairs and a 66.4% GC content. The genomic annotation of Surely will broaden the knowledge of cluster B1 mycobacteriophages. The process of isolating phages and annotating their genomes will help advancements in research towards phage therapy.

Poster file