A Simple Exercise for Teaching Bacteriophage Concepts in the Undergraduate Laboratory Using Commercially Available Disinfectant

Abstract

Virus and bacteriophage are key components in any microbiology teaching. We have used a commercially available disinfectant (TRIGENE) to demonstrate plaques formation from bacteriophages on confluent bacterial lawns. We have designed a laboratory exercise on phage typing using these plaques in a single practical class to teach the concepts of bacteria-virus interactions, specificity, and diversity in a second year biomedical science course. The artificial bacteriophage-plaques are economical and capable of reliably mimicking bacteriophage effects. Use of the disinfectant to mimick bacteriophage effects eliminated the need to source and reproduce real bacteriophages, enabling fast preparation and demonstration of plaque assay in an undergraduate laboratory. Our phage typing teaching exercise facilitated effective students’ learning about bacteriophages with minimal laboratory skills or instructor intervention.