Date of Award

1-1-2015

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Biological Sciences

Content Description

1 online resource (xiii, 108 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Ing-Nang Wang

Committee Members

Thomas Caraco, Hua Shi, Cara T Pager

Keywords

hfq, Hgal1, Host shift, long-term evolution, ssRNA phage, Enterobacteriaceae, Bacteriophages, RNA viruses

Subject Categories

Biology

Abstract

Viruses in general have a narrow host range, usually infecting a single or very closely related host species. Recently, emerging diseases in human populations have been increasingly attributed to host range expansion in animal viruses. Many studies have investigated host range expansion in model systems involving animal viruses and potential hosts. My study describes the development of a model system that uses a single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) phage and five Enterobacteriaceae species. The study involved: I) Characterization of two ssRNA phages, Hgal1 and C-1, and assessing their abilities to infect multiple hosts, II) Developing and characterizing a model system involving an ssRNA phage Hgal1 and five host species, III) Investigating the host factors that affect the ability of the phage to grow in a host, and IV) Studying phage adaptation in each of the five hosts using serial transfers.

Download

Included in

Biology Commons

Share

COinS