Biology

Dr. Rodney King, professor in the WKU Biology Department, and Gatton Academy graduate Meghan Perez recently published the sequence and bioinformatic analysis of a hybrid bacteriophage genome.

The paper titled “Sequence Analysis of a Hybrid HK022/λ Bacteriophage and the Precise Identification of the λb515 and λb519 Deletion Endpoints” was published in the journal Microbial Resource Announcements. The MRA journal is a new online, fully open access journal published by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). As described on the ASM website, the journal publishes short articles announcing the availability of any microbiological resource deposited in a repository available to the community.”

Perez and Dr. King previously published the annotated genome of the hybrid phage on Genbank (accession: MH547045.1). The newly published MRA paper provides details of the discovery, sequencing and features of the unique phage genome. The hybrid phage, a genetic recombinant between bacteriophages HK022 and λ, was created in a laboratory over two decades ago. Genetic studies on the hybrid eventually led to the discovery of a novel mechanism of gene regulation called RNA-mediated transcription antitermination.

The complete manuscript can be viewed at https://mra.asm.org/content/7/18/e01118-18.

Contact: Dr. Rodney King, (270) 745-6910 or rodney.king@wku.edu