Abstract 1201 "Isolation and Characterization of Bacteriophages Infecting Metal Iron-reducing Bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1"

Bacterial viruses, or bacteriophages (phages) represent the most abundant biological entities on earth. Phages are known to attack specific bacteria, but their specificity of interaction is deeply under-characterized and focused only on model bacterial systems. The goal of this project was to isolate and characterize double-stranded DNA phages for Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, a bacterium with applications in electro-biotechnology. Toward this goal, it was enriched with more than 35 environmental samples with Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and carried out plaque (a zone of clearance) assays to isolate 10 different phages. Then serial dilutions and spot assays were performed to estimate phage numbers in plaque forming units and extracted their genomic DNA by the Promega Wizard method. The phage samples are being prepared for image analysis by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and genome sequencing using Illumina genome sequencing. Finally, assays are being planned to identify phage-specific host receptors using barcoded loss-of-function mutant libraries. By studying S. oneidensis MR-1 interaction with diverse phages, we will gain insight into the host genetic factors that render bacteria susceptible or resistant to killing by specific phages.