Not Your Grandma’s Chili: An Examination of the Bacteriophage KidneyBean — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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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.

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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

Not Your Grandma’s Chili: An Examination of the Bacteriophage KidneyBean

Name: Samantha Ardery
Major: Biology
Hometown: Indianapolis
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: HHMI SEA-Phages

Name: KD Daly
Major: Biology, Neuroscience
Hometown: Evanston
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: HHMI SEA-Phages

Name: Dominic Krischke
Major: Biology
Hometown: Bryron
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: HHMI SEA-Phages

Name: Isaiah Whitehead
Major: Biology, Neuroscience
Hometown: Rockford
Faculty Sponsor: Deborah Tobiason
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project
Funding: HHMI SEA-Phages

Abstract

The Gordonia terrae bacteriophage KidneyBean was found in the Fall of 2017 from a soil sample taken from city grounds in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Bacteriophages are viruses that can infect only bacteria, binding to receptors on the host cell and using the host cell to build its progeny. KidneyBean infects Gordonia terrae, a non-pathogenic, gram positive bacteria. KidneyBean was isolated using serial dilutions to produce a lysate, which was used to extract genomic DNA. Phages were viewed using transmission electron microscopy and KidneyBean was found to be a siphoviridae with a long, flexible tail. The genomic DNA was sequenced at Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute, and its genome contains 67,802 base pairs. Through plaque analysis KidneyBean was found to have a lytic life cycle. The plaque morphology shows a clear center with a large, turbid exterior. It belongs to the CR cluster and CR2 subcluster of actinobacteriophages. The genome was annotated to find further differences and similarities between KidneyBean and other phages, both of the same subcluster and other subclusters of phages. Through studying KidneyBean, we can learn more about other phages of the same morphotype that infect the same host and do comparative analysis.

Poster file