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A Step Past Phage Hunters, Modification of the Mycobacteriophage ZoeJ Genome for Phage Therapies
Author(s) -
Scano Colin J,
Jancevski Alicia,
Scola Shelby,
Ferrante Aaron
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.650.7
Subject(s) - lytic cycle , lysogenic cycle , integrase , bacteriophage , biology , temperateness , phagemid , genome , phage therapy , gene , virology , lysogen , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , virus , escherichia coli
Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect host mycobacterial cells like the mycobacterium tuberculosis . When infected, the host bacterial cell will either enter a lytic or lysogenic phase. In the lytic cycle, the host cell is transformed into a phage DNA producing factory. This host cell then lyses, releasing numerous new phages that infect other bacterial cells, carrying on the cycle. During lysogeny, however, the phage genome is integrated into the bacterial cell genome and the host cell does not lyse, remaining dormant for periods of time. The use of phages for the treatment of bacterial infections known as phage therapy is an alternative to the conventional use of antibiotics and could potentially replace it entirely. Since only the lytic cycle offers antimicrobial treatment, problems arise in phage therapy due to the inability to control the lifecycle of phages. A solution to this problem involves the creation of a lytic‐only phage through alterations of the phage genome. The phage genes responsible for the lysogenic cycle and genome integrations are the repressor and integrase genes. The goal of this project is to alter the phage genome in order to construct lytic‐only phage that lacks the repressor or integrase genes. This project focuses on the K2 cluster phage ZoeJ that was discovered in the SEA‐PHAGES/Phage Hunters program at Providence College. We have previously demonstrated that the repressor gene can be knocked out in the ZoeJ phage, and now aim to knock out the integrase gene in the wild‐type ZoeJ phage, as well as in the Δgp46 ZoeJ phage. Using the BRED method developed by the Hatfull laboratory, we aim to take advantage of the homologous recombination of bacteria DNA with phage DNA to delete the integrase gene from the ZoeJ phage genome. Support or Funding Information Funding for the project and trip has been supplied by the Providence College Biochemistry department through the PC small grants for undergraduate research. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .