Authors: Alix Elliston
Mentors: Lane Law
Insitution: Salt Lake Community College
Cyanobacteria (colloquially known as blue-green algae) are photosynthetic prokaryotes commonly found in water. Several genera of freshwater cyanobacteria, including Microcystis, Planktothrix (Oscillatoria), and Anabaena, produce potent hepatotoxins known as microcystins. Eutrophication and increasing temperatures facilitate an overgrowth of toxin-producing cyanobacteria, referred to as cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). There are several known cyanophages which infect these genera and there has been some research into the role phages play in regulating cyanoHABs. This study aims to isolate microcystin-producing cyanobacteria from Utah Lake, as well as known or novel freshwater cyanophages which can infect the isolates. Any isolated phage will be propagated, have its DNA extracted and sequenced, and studied for use as a CRISPR delivery vehicle to target toxin-producing cyanobacteria, with the aim of knocking out microcystin biosynthesis.