Premium
Isolation and genetic analysis of an environmental bacteriophage: A 10‐session laboratory series in molecular virology
Author(s) -
Williamson Ryan P.,
Barker Brent T.,
Drammeh Hamidou,
Scott Jefferson,
Lin Joseph
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
biochemistry and molecular biology education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1539-3429
pISSN - 1470-8175
DOI - 10.1002/bmb.20829
Subject(s) - bacteriophage , genome , isolation (microbiology) , biology , clone (java method) , computational biology , session (web analytics) , bacterial virus , whole genome sequencing , virology , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , computer science , dna , gene , escherichia coli , world wide web
Bacterial viruses, otherwise known as bacteriophage (or phage), are some of the most abundant viruses found in the environment. They can be easily isolated from water or soil and are ideal for use in laboratory classrooms due to their ease of culture and inherent safety. Here, we describe a series of 10 laboratory exercises where students collect, isolate, and purify the genome of an environmental phage. Once the genome has been extracted, students then clone a fragment of their isolated phage genome into a plasmid and analyze its sequence to identify the phage in their original isolate. These exercises have been carefully designed to apply foundational concepts that will expose students to basic skills in microbiology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. © 2014 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 42(6):480–485, 2014.