Future in Phage Therapy Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria​

The genus Bacillus is a medically important genus because several species cause disease like cereus and anthracis, that involves several species within it. We chose B. thuringiensis, a non pathogenic species of Bacillus, as our host as it is very abundant in the environment and therefore it is easy to isolate phages. The University of Mary Washington Class of 2021-2022 isolated a total of eight phages. The phages were photographed using a Transmission Electron Microscope to determine their morphotype. They were further characterized by host range analysis showed that KoopaTroopa grew on other Bacillus species such as B. cereus. B. cereus is a foodborne pathogen that can cause gastrointestinal illness in humans. Since the goal of phage research is to develop phage therapy against pathogenic bacteria, we analyzed the genome of KoopaTroopa further. Through genome annotation we hope to find lytic and toxin producing genes that help Koopa Troopa destroy the pathogenic Bacillus species