Isolation and Characterization of Viruses (Bacteriophages) that Kill Common Human Gut Bacteria

A drawing of bacteria in the gut, with a caption saying our gut is inhabited by trillions of microbes and viruses!

Explore the invisible world of microbes and viruses. 

Project description

The human gut is home to diverse microbes and has one of the highest density of microbes on Earth. The trillions of microbes that live within us are incredibly important for human health. Yet, we know little about these microbes and their viral predators and symbiotic partners. Our lab works with highly abundant gut anaerobic bacteria (or anaerobes) and bacterial viruses that infect them, also known as bacteriophages or phages. Students will be isolating and cultivating phages from various wastewater samples that infect gut anaerobic bacteria. This will allow us to characterize the interplay between bacteria and phages in the human gut using microbiology and genomic approaches. Isolated gut phages will be characterized through infection assays, imaging, and sequencing to compare and contrast their biological functions.

This project will lead to a panel of novel phages that infect against gut bacteria with corresponding data on their structural morphology through microscopy and genome sequences. This will allow us to prioritize and identify phages of interest for characterizations to generate host range data. The resulting data will be used in a publication on phages that infect the most abundant group of bacteria in the human gut. 

Project outcome

  • Learn fundamental microbiology techniques to isolate, cultivate, and characterize anaerobic bacteriophages. The student will assist with imaging of phage particles using electron microscopy. The host range of each phage will be characterized through infection assays against a panel of gut anaerobic bacteria.
  • Develop bioinformatics skills by annotating and comparing phage genome sequences.
  • Learn how to write detailed records for experimental and computational analysis using an electronic notebook system.
  • Gain critical thinking skills and exposure to the scientific method through literature reading to inform their work.
  • Learn how to create and present a scientific poster to communicate their work and findings.
  • Advance their oral and written communication skills by participating in group meetings and journal clubs. 

Project details

Timing, eligibility and other details
Length of commitment About a semester
Start time

Spring

Summer
In-person, remote, or hybrid? In-Person
Level of collaboration Individual Student Project
Benefits Stipend
Who is eligible

All undergraduate students who have completed a lab course in chemistry, microbiology, and/or biology. 

 

The student is expected to be highly motivated and organized with strong communication skills.

 

Preference will be given to students majoring in a related subject who are excited about microbes and interested in exploring research as a career opportunity. 

Project mentor

Yolanda Huang

Assistant Professor

Microbiology and Immunology

Phone: (716) 829-6061

Email: yyh@buffalo.edu

Start the project

  1. Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
  2. After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.) 
Start the Digital Badge

Preparation activities

Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase. 

Keywords

microbiology, viruses, bacteria, immunology, molecular biology