Bacteriophage and Host Bacteria Interactions within the Ala Wai Canal
Date
2018
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Abstract
Bacteriophages, or also known as phages, are viruses that infect specific types of
bacteria and have major influence on the ecology of bacteria. Phages can lyse and kill
bacteria, mediate horizontal gene transfer between bacteria, or establish symbiotic
relationships with bacteria that change the behavior of the host. As a first step towards
understanding how phages influence the ecology of bacteria within the Ala Wai canal, a
drainage canal in Waikiki often used for recreation, we isolated and characterized phagehost systems. Of 25 distinct bacteria in three different phyla isolated from the canal (22
Proteobacteria, 2 Firmicutes, and 2 Bacteroidetes), we detected phages that infected five
of them (all Gammaproteobacteria) using the agar overlay technique. The host range test
and restriction enzyme digests indicated that all five phages were distinct and specific to
the host on which they were isolated. Electron microscopy of lysed bacteria cultures
revealed phage-like particles with capsid diameters in the range of 50-75 nm, at least one
of which had a tail suggesting it belongs to the viral family Caudovirales. This study
demonstrates that phages are readily detectable in the canal but additional work would be
needed to determine both their abundance and influence on bacterial populations in the
canal.
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bacteria, virus, bacteriophages, microbiology
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36 pages
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