Background 

Research Goal

Focused on understanding viral infection and replication of the model organism E. coli by bacteriophage. Students investigate the host-pathogen interactions to better understand the mechanism used by both the E. coli and bacteriophage to survive.

Bacteriophage

Bacteriophage is a virus that only infects bacteria. They are specific to certain types of bacteria based on the receptors of the host cell. Bacteriophage can be found anywhere in the world, especially in places high in bacteria including your kitchen sponge. In this lab, we typically work with T2 and T4 phage which are double stranded DNA viruses.

Importance of Our Research

As most people know, antibiotic resistance is becoming a big issue when it comes to treating bacterial infections. What most people don't know is that bacteriophage could be considered the answer to this problem. Before antibiotics were invented, bacteriophage was being studied as a way to combat bacterial infections. This research stopped because of the success of antibiotics. Now that antibiotics are no longer a viable solution, bacteriophage research has been picked back up. Phage therapy, which is the use of bacteriophage to fight a bacterial infection, has already been used to cure numerous antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. Understanding the  relationship between bacteriophage and the host cell will give us a better understanding of how bacteriophage can be applied to these treatments.

Lab Skills 

Spectrophotometry -- Serial dilutions -- Pipette/Micropipette mastery -- Control Culturing of E. Coli -- Creating an Aseptic Environment -- Making and Pouring Agar plates -- Phage quantification -- Lab Safety -- Record Keeping -- One-step Phage growth/double-overlay -- Excel spreadsheet proficiency -- Communication/Leadership

To Learn More

https://youtu.be/9veMJaKGIAw?si=UdLIsMSUkVU0Cdih