Title of Presentation or Performance

World of Bacteriophages: The Discovery and Genomic Analysis of Microbacterium foliorum Phages Big4 and Potty

Major

Biology

Submission Type

Poster

Area of Study or Work

Biology

Expected Graduation Date

2025

Location

CNS Atrium, Easel 17

Start Date

4-9-2022 8:30 AM

End Date

4-9-2022 9:45 AM

Abstract

Bacteriophages (“phages”) are diverse and abundant viruses that infect bacteria. There are approximately 1031 phage particles on Earth with less than 2 x 103 having been sequenced. In the fall of 2021, IWU’s SEA-Lab students found 12 phages that infect Microbacterium foliorum. We will discuss two sequenced M. foliorum phages, Big4 and Potty. MfBig4 and MfPotty were discovered using soil samples collected from the IWU campus and a potted plant in a neighborhood in Bloomington, IL, respectively. MfBig4 and MfPotty both formed small and clear plaques, which are some properties of lytic phages. After comparing the capsid diameters and tail lengths from the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images and analyzing genomic sequences from the phages’ DNA samples, we predicted that MfPotty is from the EF cluster and MfBig4 is from the GD cluster. The genome of MfBig4 is significantly larger than that of MfPotty at 192,363 base pairs, with MfPotty having 56,617 base pairs. We assigned functions and annotated genes in these genomes in order to further interpret this sequence information. After analyzing the gene patterns for both phages, we compared them to others that belonged in the same cluster. MfBig4 was found to be from a rare cluster with only 5 known phages, whereas MfPotty is more common, being in a cluster with 22 known phages. Overall, identifying patterns in genomic sequences of phage genomes is essential for predicting where genes are located and understanding phage genetics and evolution.

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Apr 9th, 8:30 AM Apr 9th, 9:45 AM

World of Bacteriophages: The Discovery and Genomic Analysis of Microbacterium foliorum Phages Big4 and Potty

CNS Atrium, Easel 17

Bacteriophages (“phages”) are diverse and abundant viruses that infect bacteria. There are approximately 1031 phage particles on Earth with less than 2 x 103 having been sequenced. In the fall of 2021, IWU’s SEA-Lab students found 12 phages that infect Microbacterium foliorum. We will discuss two sequenced M. foliorum phages, Big4 and Potty. MfBig4 and MfPotty were discovered using soil samples collected from the IWU campus and a potted plant in a neighborhood in Bloomington, IL, respectively. MfBig4 and MfPotty both formed small and clear plaques, which are some properties of lytic phages. After comparing the capsid diameters and tail lengths from the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images and analyzing genomic sequences from the phages’ DNA samples, we predicted that MfPotty is from the EF cluster and MfBig4 is from the GD cluster. The genome of MfBig4 is significantly larger than that of MfPotty at 192,363 base pairs, with MfPotty having 56,617 base pairs. We assigned functions and annotated genes in these genomes in order to further interpret this sequence information. After analyzing the gene patterns for both phages, we compared them to others that belonged in the same cluster. MfBig4 was found to be from a rare cluster with only 5 known phages, whereas MfPotty is more common, being in a cluster with 22 known phages. Overall, identifying patterns in genomic sequences of phage genomes is essential for predicting where genes are located and understanding phage genetics and evolution.