Characterization of Escherichia coli Single-gene Deletion Mutants Impaired in Bacteriophage Reproduction
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: An assay was designed to measure the sensitivity of Escherichia coli mutants to bacteriophage infection via growth curves, using a Tecan temperature controlled plate reader. I screened 3985 single-gene deletion strains in Escherichia coli K12 from the Keio collection and identified 43 strains displaying varying degrees of resistance to four different phages, three non-contractile tailed phages (λcI857, HK97, and HK243) and the myoviridae T6, including 20 genes not previously implicated in phage infection. Additional assays, such as adsorption and tests of DNA-injection, were designed to further characterize resistant strains. The use of these assays helped identify varying sensitivities to LPS structure and LamB receptor concentration in the three non-contractile tailed phages, showing HK97 is the most sensitive to changes and HK243 the least. I also found that the periplasmic chaperone, FkpA, is required for HK97 DNA-injection.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Kelly Reimer
Language: English
Subfield: Virology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2728002287