Discovery, Purification and Annotation of Four Novel Mycobacteriophages in New England

Mason Krawczynski ’26, Biology and Psychology major Faculty mentor: Dr. Kathleen Cornely, Chemistry and Biochemistry Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria of the Mycobacterium genus. Several thousand mycobacteriophages have been discovered, isolated, and characterized to advance the current understanding of their genomic diversity. The mycobacterium phage selection proves valuable, as they have a broad host range and potential for therapeutic application to treat pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis infection. Kraw was isolated from a soil sample collected in Oaks Bluff, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in July 2023. FairyPath, Calvinny, and Huxley were discovered from soil samples collected in Crystal Lake, Ellington, Connecticut, in January 2024. Three rounds of purification were completed before obtaining a phage lysate for DNA extraction protocol. The DNA samples were sequenced via a shotgun sequencing method and determined to belong to clusters K4, E, A3, and A4, respectively. The findings presented here advance the understanding of mycobacteriophage genomics and the potential for therapeutic application.