Abstract
EagleEye is a temperate bacteriophage, which was isolated on the host, Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155 from soil collected in Houston, TX. It is classified as cluster A16. We are using a systematic genetic screen to uncover functions of phage genes for which the function is unknown. We cloned each gene into the pExTra plasmid and assayed phage gene individually for two phenotypes: cytotoxicity, the ability to interfere with host cell growth, and defense, the ability to protect the host cell from infection by other phages. We have cloned all but 15 of EagleEye’s 95 protein-coding genes. Thus far, we have identified seventeen genes that are cytotoxic and six genes that confer defense when overexpressed.
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EagleEye is landing: Discovery of Cytotoxic and Defense Genes in a Cluster A16 Mycobacteriophage
EagleEye is a temperate bacteriophage, which was isolated on the host, Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155 from soil collected in Houston, TX. It is classified as cluster A16. We are using a systematic genetic screen to uncover functions of phage genes for which the function is unknown. We cloned each gene into the pExTra plasmid and assayed phage gene individually for two phenotypes: cytotoxicity, the ability to interfere with host cell growth, and defense, the ability to protect the host cell from infection by other phages. We have cloned all but 15 of EagleEye’s 95 protein-coding genes. Thus far, we have identified seventeen genes that are cytotoxic and six genes that confer defense when overexpressed.