Phage Latent Period Assay

With our well-established phage therapy platform, the experienced scientists here at Creative Biolabs are dedicated to helping you solve various problems encountered in the process of project development. With years of experience, now we can provide a novel phage latent period determination service for our clients all over the world.

Introduction of Phage Latent Period

Phage growth can be differentiated into the following periods, which include phage adsorption, uptake of virion nucleic acid, infection, virion maturation, and virion release. The phage latent period can be defined as the delay between phage adsorption and subsequent phage-progeny release. For lytic phages, lysis means termination of the incubation period.

This process can be largely controlled by a phage protein complex called holin. Holins can inhibit the activity of cell wall-digesting endolysins, and mutations in the holin gene can significantly alter the timing of host cell lysis. Studies have shown that the phage latent period can affect the phage growth rate and the phage generation time. In the case of high host density or good host quality, the incubation period of phage will be greatly shortened.

Fig.1 Latent period determination using turbidity measurements. (Hyman & Abedon, 2009)

Phage Latent Period Assay

The measurement of the phage latency period can be achieved by detecting the release of phage virions or detecting disruption of bacterial infection. The minimum phage latent period is also called the constant period and the number of plaque-forming units (PFUs) does not change significantly until lysis begins. During the subsequent rise period, an increase in the number of PFU can be detected. Currently, computer simulation has also been used for the quantitative prediction of phage latent period.

• One-step growth experiments allow the determination of the effects of changes in the physical and chemical environment on the infection cycle, as well as the duration of the phage eclipse period. Accurate measurement of phage latent period requires some degree of metabolic synchronization to initiate phage infection.
• Determination of phage latent period via culture turbidity rather than virion liberation is a classical method. This technique has been used for the research of phage T4 lysis inhibition and phage RB69 lysis-timing evolution.

Creative Biolabs offers the most advanced and comprehensive phage latent period assays today. We would try our best to provide a customized proposal to meet your project requirements in the quality, timeline, and budget. If you are interested in our services, please do not hesitate to contact us for detailed information.

References:

1. Hyman, P.; Abedon, S.T. Practical methods for determining phage growth parameters. Bacteriophages. Humana Press, 2009: 175-202.
2. Abedon, S.T.; et al. Bacteriophage latent-period evolution as a response to resource availability. Applied and environmental microbiology. 2001, 67(9): 4233-4241.