Sea Phage

Advancing SEA-PHAGES at Northwest Indian College to Promote Indigenous Voices

National Science Foundation Award #2050699

 

Northwest Indian College (NWIC) students will collect and isolate their own mycobacteriophage (phage) from samples collected on or near campus, with one project focusing on the cyanobacteria of the Salish Sea. Students will purify the elected phage and isolate its genomic DNA, and then conduct a restricted digest analysis of a portion of phage genomic DNA to confirm genomic DNA integrity and to examine if the restriction pattern is similar to previously characterized phages. Students will also prepare electron microscopy grids fixed with their purified phage and work with NWIC's Salish Sea Research Center to determine their phage morphology. The genome of one phage will then be sent to the University of Pittsburg for genomic sequencing, and during the second half of the course the students will use gene-searching tools to identify and annotate the probable genes. Students will also compare the results of their gene coding to known, characterized mycobacteriophage genomes before uploading their completed product to GenBank, an online database of genetic sequences maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Presentations at the national SEA-PHAGES conference in Ashland, VA further develop student research skills.