Major
Bioinformatics
Anticipated Graduation Year
2026
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
To date, two investigations of E. faecalis genomes from the urogenital tract have been conducted. Both identified “genetic signatures” that can distinguish these genomes by their isolation site. Of note is the presence of prophage sequences. Both prior studies identified these prophages from strains isolated from post-menopausal females; it is unknown if these prophages are found within E. faecalis strains of the urinary tract of pre-menopausal females. To address these gaps in knowledge, we isolated 15 E. faecalis samples from voided urine samples of healthy females. Whole genome sequencing was performed, and genomes were annotated to identify prophage sequences.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Catherine Putonti; Department of Biology
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Presence of Prophages in Enterococcus faecalis Isolated from the Female Urinary Tract
To date, two investigations of E. faecalis genomes from the urogenital tract have been conducted. Both identified “genetic signatures” that can distinguish these genomes by their isolation site. Of note is the presence of prophage sequences. Both prior studies identified these prophages from strains isolated from post-menopausal females; it is unknown if these prophages are found within E. faecalis strains of the urinary tract of pre-menopausal females. To address these gaps in knowledge, we isolated 15 E. faecalis samples from voided urine samples of healthy females. Whole genome sequencing was performed, and genomes were annotated to identify prophage sequences.