University Archives

Our research focuses on Khan1: a bacteriophage with a wide variety of genes, each with a unique function. This poster will focus on gene groups 7-25 Khan1. Genes 7-25 are real protein coding genes. Some genes have known, assigned functions, while others do not have a known function. Usually, the early genes of phage genomes code proteins that function in host cell takeover, which is a crucial step of infection, or they may code for structural aspects of the phage. To determine the function of genes, we used platforms such as PECAAN, BLASTp, HHPRED, and PhagesDB. These platforms helped us discover start codons, coding potential, structure, conserved domains, and essential information to hypothesize a function. Some of the functions we identified in the bacteriophage genome included portal proteins, major capsid pentamer proteins, and capsid maturation proteins, all of which are important structural parts of the virus. These proteins help form the phage head and play major roles in packaging, protecting, and releasing the viral DNA. These are very important steps in host cell takeovers. As for future research, altering the start codons for the unknown genes may help determine a potential function and conduct more information about Khan1. Learning the phage genome helps researchers predict how effective it may be against specific bacterial strains and what effects it could have on a host. Understanding the genome also makes it easier to identify useful genes, rule out harmful traits, and decide whether the phage is a strong candidate for therapeutic use.