The phage lab has been a center for undergraduate research at Evergreen since Elizabeth (Betty) Kutter came here in 1972, one year after the college opened. Today, there are generally 10-15 students involved in work in the lab. The early work focused on phage genetics and the transition from host to phage metabolism after infection of E. coli by T4, particularly on the roles of T4's use of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (HMdC) in place of cytosine in its DNA, the gradual degradation of the host DNA and the role of T4's gpAlc in the shutoff of transcription of cytosine-containing DNA. Through the years, collaborations with Evergreen colleagues and many members of the phage community have added new strengths and directions, such as the T4 genome project of the 1980s and 1990s, anaerobic infections, ecologically relevant simulations and a variety of new phages. Since 1999, the collaboration with Dr. Andrew Brabban has impacted phage research at Evergreen significantly. Having worked in both industrial and academic settings, Brabban brings expertise in biotechnology and microbial physiology, especially under anaerobic conditions. He quickly struck up a close working partnership with Kutter, born of a mutual interest in designing new technologies to help society and in "finding answers to the questions people never ask". Now, we are focusing particularly on phage ecology with the aims of understanding the infection process under conditions better reflecting those in the natural environment, as well as on interactions between phages of different families during simultaneous infection and the building of cocktails for potential therapeutic applications. In efforts to help clear E. coli O157 out of the guts of livestock, we work with phages isolated from sheep and cattle (mainly of the T4 and T5 families), collaborating with USDA scientists in College Station, Texas. We also are isolating and studying many phages targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa from cystic fibrosis patients and from dog-ear infections, in collaboration with scientists at the Eliava Institute in Tbilisi, Georgia as well as with Jane Burns at Children’s Hospital, Seattle and with a local veterinarian. The abstracts below reflect work that our students have presented at various recent regional, national and international meetings, including the biennial Evergreen International Phage Biology meetings, the 18th of which will happen August 9-14 2009.
Some Recent International and National Meeting Student Presentations: (*students)
Larissa Rogge*, Ramona Calnan*, Rawnie Torres*, Matthew Spooner*, Andrew Brabban, and Elizabeth Kutter. (July 2008) Determining the Kinetics of a Therapeutic Phage Cocktail Targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Edinburgh Phage Meeting, Scotland
M. Spooner*, L. Rogge*, B. Kutter and A. Brabban (Dec. 2007). Anaerobic Growth and Bacteriophage Infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Phages in Interaction Symposium, Leuven, Belgium
Ramona Calnan*, Chris Judd*, Larissa Rogge*, Rawnie Torres*, Seamus Flynn*, Andrew Brabban and Elizabeth Kutter. (Dec. 2007) Determining the Properties of a Therapeutic Phage Cocktail, Phages in Interaction Symposium, Leuven, Belgium
C.M. Loc-Carrillo, A. Angermeyer*, M. Bennett*, M. Oetjens*, L. Gogokhia*, T. Kvelashvili, G. Bennett, Andrew Brabban, and Elizabeth Kutter. (2006) The Potential to Treat Chronic Dog-Ear Infections with Pseudomonas Specific Bacteriophages. ASM General Meeting. Orlando, Florida.
Rebecca Oot*, Raul Raya, Sarah Perigo*, Anna Castano*, Michael Dyen*, Richard Baumann, Todd Callaway, Elizabeth Kutter, Andrew Brabban. (2005). Characterization of Bacteriophages Active Against Escherichia coli O157:H7. ASM General Meeting Atlanta.
Selected Publications
Kutter, E. (2009). Bacteriophage Therapy: Past and Present. In: Encyclopedia of Microbiology. (Moselio Schaechter, Editor.Oxford: Elsevier.
Kutter, E. (2008). Phage Therapy: Bacteriophages as Natural, Self-Replicating Antimicrobials. In: Practical Handbook of Microbiology, E. Goldman, editor, CRC Press.
Kutter, E. and E. Goldman (2008) Introduction to Phage. pg. 677-700 In: Practical Handbook of Microbiology, E. Goldman, editor, CRC Press.
R.A. Oot*, R.R. Raya, T.R. Callaway, T.S. Edrington, E.M. Kutter and A.D. Brabban. (2007). Prevalence of E. coli O157 and O157:H7-Infecting Bacteriophages in Feedlot Cattle Feces. Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 45: 445-453.
Raul R. Raya, Peter Varey*, Rebecca A. Oot*, Michael R. Dyen*, Todd R. Callaway, Tom S. Edrington, Elizabeth M. Kutter, and Andrew D. Brabban (2006). Isolation and Characterization of a New T-Even Bacteriophage, CEV1, and Determination of Its Potential To Reduce Escherichia coli O157:H7 Levels in Sheep. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72: 6405-6410.
T. R. Callaway, T. S. Edrington, A. D. Brabban, J. E. Keen, R. C. Anderson, M. L. Rossman, M. J. Engler, K. J. Genovese, B. L. Gwartney, J. O. Reagan, T. L. Poole, R. B. Harvey, E. M. Kutter, and D. J. Nisbet. (2006). Fecal prevalence of Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella, Listeria and bacteriophage infecting E. coliO157:H7 in feedlot cattle in the Southern Plains region of the United States. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. Sept, Vol. 3, No. 3: 234 -244
A.D. Brabban, E. Hite*, T.R. Callaway. (2005). Evolution of Foodborne Pathogens via Temperate Bacteriophage-Mediated Gene Transfer. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. Dec 2005, Vol. 2, No. 4: 287-303.
Diane Nelsen*, E. Kutter, T. Callaway, T. Edrington and Andrew D Brabban. (2004). Approaches to Controlling Escherichia coli O157:H7, a Food-Borne Pathogen and an Emerging Environmental Hazard. Environ. Pract. Vol 6 (Sept), No 3, p208-229.
Kutter, Elizabeth and Alexander Sulakvelidze. (2005). Bacteriophages: Biology and Applications. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida (510 pages)
Brabban, A.D., D.A. Nelson, E. Kutter, T.S. Edrington, and T.R. Callaway. (2004).Approaches to controlling Escherichia coli O157:H7, a food-borne pathogen and an emerging environmental hazard. Environmental Practice 6:208-229.
Chibani-Chennoufi, Sandra, Josette Sidoti, Marie-Lise Dillmann, Anne Bruttin, Elizabeth Kutter, Henry Krisch, Shafique Sarker, and Harald Brüssow. (2004). Isolation of Bacteriophages from the Stool of Pediatric Diarrhea Patients. J. Bacteriol. 186: 8287-8294.
Chibani-Chennoufi, Sandra, Josette Sidoti, Anne Bruttin, Elizabeth Kutter, Shafiq Sarker, and Harald Brüssow. (2004) Comparison of in vitro and in vivo bacteriolytic activity of Escherichia coli phages: implications for phage therapy. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother 48: 2558-2569.
Miller, Eric, Elizabeth Kutter, Gisela Mosig, Fumio Arisaka, Takahashi Kunisawa, and Wolfgang Rueger (2004. Bacteriophage T4 Genome. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 2003 67: 86-156
Paddison, Patrick*, Steven Abedon, Holly Dressman, Katherine Gailbreath*, Julia Tracy*, Eric Mosser*, James Neitzel, Burton Guttman, and Elizabeth Kutter. 1998. The Roles Of The Bacteriophage T4 rapid-lysis Genes In Lysis Inhibition and Fine-Structure Genetics: A New Perspective. Genetics 148:1539-1550
Kutter, Elizabeth, Ketevan Gachechiladze, Alexandr Poglazov*, Elena Marusich*, Mikhail Shneider*, Pia Aronsson*, Alberto Napuli*, Darlene Porter*, Vadim Mesyanzhinov. Evolution of T4-Related Phages. 1996. Virus Genes 11:285-297.
Kutter, Elizabeth. 1996. Analysis of Bacteriophage T4 Based on the completed DNA Sequence. In Integrative Approaches to Molecular Biology, MIT Press; J. Collado-Vides, B. Magasanik and T. F. Smith.
Kutter, E., K. D'Acci, R. Drivdahl, G. Loring, P. Lindsay, J. McKinney, J. Gleckler, S. Peterson and B. Guttman. 1994. Identification of bacteriophage T4 prereplicative proteins on two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels. J. Bacteriol. 176:1647-1654.
Kutter, E., E. Kellenberger, K. Carlson, S. Eddy, J. Neitzel, L. Messinger*, J. North*, and B. Guttman. Effects of bacterial growth conditions and physiology on T4 infection. In: Molecular Biology of Bacteriophage T4, 1994, American Society for Microbiology Press, J. Karam, J. Drake, K. Kreuzer, G. Mosig, D. Hall, F. Eiserling, L. Black, E. Spicer, E. Kutter, K. Carlson and E. Miller, editors: p. 406-418.
Kutter, E., T. White, M. Kashlev, M. Uzan, J. McKinney and B. Guttman. Effects on host genome structure and expression. p. 357-368. In: Molecular Biology of Bacteriophage T4, 1994, American Society for Microbiology Press, J. Karam, J. Drake, K. Kreuzer, G. Mosig, D. Hall, F. Eiserling, L. Black, E. Spicer, E. Kutter, K. Carlson and E. Miller, editors: p. 406-418.