Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Biological Sciences

Muco-obstructive illness is caused by any number of defects in the respiratory tract that result in viscous or static mucus. This creates an environment conducive for pathogen colonization with subsequent synergistic interactions that drive selection of a smaller set of apex pathogens, resistant to immune and antibiotic intervention. Successful control and potential resolution of such infections will require the development of new therapeutic strategies. One potential approach involves identification of bacterial viruses that target the dominant bacterial strains that manifest in patients with compromised respiratory functions. This study considers a set of bacteriophage specific for, and toxic to Burkholderia species that often dominate in such patient populations. I isolated a set of bacteriophage from environmental samples (including soil, human sewage, and agricultural waste for consideration. Some environmental isolates were capable of infecting pathogenic Burkholderia and a suite of lab adapted and pathogenic Burkholderia strains. As a result of this bacteriophage hunt, 15 potential bacteriophage isolates have been maintained, four of which have been sequenced and analyzed further. To do so, DNA was extracted from the purified and amplified isolates and sequenced. Thus, it was postulated that the novel bacteriophages “Clear “and “Cloudy” may be related to the P2-family of bacteriophage: whereas novel bacteriophage “P1P” contains elements similar to mu-like phage. Further research is necessary to detail the genome structure, genetic relationships, and gene function; however, these novel isolates reiterate the notion that pathogen-infecting bacteriophage are potentially isolated from the environment using non-pathogenic or pathogenic strains.

Committee: Raymond Larsen Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Hans Wildschutte Ph.D. (Committee Member); Simon Morgan-Russell Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Microbiology