Bacteriophage Builder Challenge
In this maker challenge, students design a bacteriophage (a type of virus) that can infect and kill harmful bacteria. The goal is to design a bacteriophage that will effectively attach to as many different types of bacteria as possible. Students can use a variety of building materials: Styrofoam blocks, Styrofoam spheres, Velcro, tape, string, toothpicks, and even 3D printing pens and have a limited amount of time to design and build their bacteriophage.
After building their bacteriophage, students test its ability to infect a variety of “bacteria” such as fuzzy pom-poms, Velcro squares, and paper squares. The phages that are the most successful at killing off the bacteria will be the ones chosen to use in a water treatment solution!
This process represents the genetic engineering form of developing these viruses. Time permitting, the teacher can then show students how some scientists are using the principles of natural selection to engineer viruses that infect multiple bacterial hosts. By sequentially changing the environment by switching out the type of bacteria over the course of a few generations, scientists are left with viruses that can infect all of the different bacterial hosts.
(top) Bacteriophage infecting bacteria cell (bottom) Student-designed “phage” from the challenge.Copyright (top) 2007 xxlonelymushroom, (CC BY-ND 3.0) Deviant Art. https://www.deviantart.com/xxlonelymushroom/art/Bacteriophage-121577633
(bottom) 2020 Laurel Bingman, Rice University RET
- An assortment of building materials such as Styrofoam blocks, Styrofoam spheres, Velcro, tape, string, toothpicks, straws, and pipe cleaners; optional 3D printing pens
- At least two or three different types of materials that represent “bacteria” such as fuzzy pom-poms, Velcro squares, and paper squares. Consider making these pieces large or purchasing large poms-poms in order to ensure proper scaling when comparing bacteria to viruses.
Contributors
Laurel Bingman
Supporting Program
Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Systems (NEWT) RET, Rice University
Acknowledgements
This curriculum was based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Rice University Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Systems (NEWT) RET grant no.1449500. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
This maker challenge was inspired by the research conducted in the Alvarez Lab at Rice University with the mentorship of Pingfeng Yu and the guidance of Christina Crawford.
Copyright
2020 by Regents of the University of Colorado; original © 2018 Rice University