A bacteriophage is a virus that can infect and destroy bacteria. Phages are highly specific, meaning that they only attack certain types of bacteria. For this reason, scientists are studying them as a possible alternative to antibiotics, particularly to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Misha Hegde and Mia Maurer are in years 9 and 10 at Schuldorf Bergstra\u00dfe<\/a> School in Seeheim-Jugenheim, Germany. For the past year and a half, the young researchers have been working on a targeted way to combat the plant pathogen Rhizobium rhizogenes<\/em>. This bacterium causes hairy root disease, which can lead to the death of affected plants due to uncontrolled root growth, resulting in harvest losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In their search for a natural solution, Hegde and Maurer identified and isolated a previously unknown phage from compost soil, purified it, and tested its ability to target the bacterium. They found that the phage only attacked Rhizobium rhizogenes<\/em>, without affecting beneficial microorganisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was an indescribable feeling to have achieved our goal after all this hard work \u2013 to find a host-specific phage against Rhizobium rhizogenes<\/em>. I was full of euphoria,” said Mia Maurer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a next step, the students plan to test the protective effect of their phage on carrot slices to see if it can actually prevent infection. In the long term, their approach could provide an environmentally friendly alternative to antibiotics in agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) played a crucial role in Misha and Mia’s research, particularly in the high-resolution imaging of their isolated phage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At EMBL Heidelberg, the young researchers carried out scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at the Electron Microscopy Core Facility<\/a> (EMCF) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) at the EMBL Imaging Centre<\/a>. These advanced techniques allowed them to study the structure of their phage in detail and confirm that it has a short tail. This finding was key to classifying their phage within the family Podoviridae<\/em>. With EMBL’s expertise, they were able to produce high-resolution images that validated their findings and took their research forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The students are currently sequencing the DNA of their isolated phage to determine its exact genetic identity and confirm its taxonomic classification. To do this, they have already extracted and analysed the genetic material of both the phage and its host. So far, their tests have confirmed the phage’s classification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEach new method has brought us one step closer to proving that this is a novel phage. Over the past year, we’ve really enjoyed learning new techniques in molecular biology and microbiology, as well as the theory behind them,” said Misha Hegde. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The next step is to sequence the phage’s entire genome at EMBL’s Genomics Core Facility<\/a> (GeneCore). The data obtained could provide evidence that their phage is indeed a new, previously undescribed species. In addition, the genetic information could help to understand the mechanism by which the phage attacks the pathogenic bacterium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe would like to thank Vladimir Benes, Simone Mattei, and Yannick Schwab, who were immediately willing to support our project when we contacted them, as well as their colleagues Rachel Mellwig, Viola Oorschot, Tobias Rausch, and Georg Wolff, who taught us so much about their work,\u201d said the two young scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With their project ‘Bacteria on the Menu 2.0’, Hegde and Maurer recently won the young scientists competition ‘Jugend forscht<\/a>\u2019 at a state level. They will compete in the national competition <\/a>at the end of May. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The two students started their research in their school’s MakerLab, which supports 30 projects across a range of academic disciplines. Here, students can independently develop creative solutions to research questions in physics, biology, chemistry, computer science, sensor technology or mechanical engineering. The MakerLab regularly competes successfully in the Young Scientists competition, and many of its graduates go on to scientific careers or university degrees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI’m delighted that Misha and Mia have stuck with this project through all the ups and downs,” said Petra Leidert, Head of the Jugend forscht MakerLab at Schuldorf Bergstra\u00dfe. \u201cAt the beginning, it was far from certain whether they would be able to find a specific phage within a reasonable timeframe \u2013 let alone complete the main part of their research, the characterisation, before the competition. And how often do students get the chance to discover a new organism?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ein Bakteriophage ist ein Virus, das gezielt Bakterien infizieren und zerst\u00f6ren kann. Phagen sind hochspezifisch, das hei\u00dft, sie greifen jeweils nur bestimmte Bakterienarten an. Deshalb werden sie in der Wissenschaft und Medizin als m\u00f6gliche Alternative zu Antibiotika erforscht, insbesondere zur Bek\u00e4mpfung von antibiotikaresistenten Bakterien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Misha Hegde und Mia Maurer sind Sch\u00fclerinnen der 9. und 10. Klasse am Schuldorf Bergstra\u00dfe<\/a> in Seeheim-Jugenheim, Hessen. Die jungen Forscherinnen forschen seit eineinhalb Jahren daran, das f\u00fcr Pflanzen sch\u00e4dliche Bakterium Rhizobium rhizogenes<\/em> gezielt zu bek\u00e4mpfen. Das Bakterium verursacht die \u201eHairy Roots\u201c-Krankheit, die durch ungehemmtes Wurzelwachstum zum Absterben betroffener Nutzpflanzen und damit zu Ernteverlusten f\u00fchren kann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Auf der Suche nach einer nat\u00fcrlichen L\u00f6sung f\u00fcr einen solchen Befall identifizierten und isolierten Hegde und Maurer einen bisher unbekannten Phagen aus Komposterde, reinigten ihn auf und testeten seine F\u00e4higkeit, das Bakterium gezielt zu bek\u00e4mpfen. Sie fanden heraus, dass der Phage tats\u00e4chlich nur Rhizobium rhizogenes <\/em>angreift, ohne andere n\u00fctzliche Mikroorganismen zu beeintr\u00e4chtigen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201eEs war ein unbeschreiblich tolles Gef\u00fchl, nach all der Arbeit tats\u00e4chlich unser Ziel erreicht zu haben, einen wirtsspezifischen Phagen gegen Rhizobium rhizogene<\/em>s zu finden. Ich war voller Euphorie,\u201d erz\u00e4hlte Mia Maurer.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Als n\u00e4chsten Schritt planen die Sch\u00fclerinnen, die Schutzwirkung ihres Phagen an Karottenscheiben zu testen, um zu pr\u00fcfen, ob er eine Infektion tats\u00e4chlich verhindern kann. Langfristig k\u00f6nnte ihr Ansatz eine umweltfreundliche Alternative zu Antibiotika in der Landwirtschaft darstellen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Das Europ\u00e4ische Laboratorium f\u00fcr Molekularbiologie (EMBL) spielte eine entscheidende Rolle in der Forschung von Misha und Mia, insbesondere bei der hochaufl\u00f6senden Bildanalyse ihres isolierten Phagen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Am EMBL Heidelberg f\u00fchrten die jungen Forscherinnen Rasterelektronenmikroskopie (SEM) und Kryo-Elektronentomographie (Cryo-ET) in den Serviceeinrichtungen EMBL Imaging Centre<\/a> und der Electron Microscopy Core Facility<\/a> durch. Diese hochmodernen Verfahren erm\u00f6glichten es ihnen, die Struktur ihres Phagen genau zu untersuchen und zu best\u00e4tigen, dass er eine kurze Schwanzstruktur besitzt. Diese Erkenntnis war entscheidend f\u00fcr die taxonomische Einordnung ihres Phagen in die Familie der Podoviridae<\/em>. Mit Hilfe der EMBL-Expertise konnten sie hochaufl\u00f6sende Bilder erstellen, die ihre Ergebnisse best\u00e4tigten und ihre Forschung voran brachten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Momentan f\u00fchren die Sch\u00fclerinnen DNA-Sequenzierung ihres isolierten Phagen durch, um seine genetische Identit\u00e4t genau zu bestimmen und seine taxonomische Einordnung zu best\u00e4tigen. Daf\u00fcr haben sie bereits das Erbgut des Phagen und seines Wirts extrahiert und analysiert. Die Tests haben bisher die Einordnung des Phagen best\u00e4tigt. Der n\u00e4chste Schritt ist die vollst\u00e4ndige Genomsequenzierung des Phagen in der Genomics Core Facility<\/a> (GeneCore) des EMBL. Mit den gewonnenen Daten k\u00f6nnten sie nachweisen, dass ihr Phage tats\u00e4chlich eine neue, bisher unbeschriebene Art ist. Zudem k\u00f6nnten die genetischen Informationen dabei helfen, den Mechanismus zu verstehen, mit dem der Phage das krankheitserregende Bakterium angreift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201eWir m\u00f6chten uns herzlich bei Vladimir Benes, Simone Mattei und Yannick Schwab bedanken, die sofort bereit waren, unser Projekt zu unterst\u00fctzen, und bei ihren Kolleg:innen Rachel Mellwig, Viola Oorschot, Tobias Rauscher und Georg Wolff, von denen wir viel \u00fcber ihre Arbeit erfahren haben,\u201d erkl\u00e4rten Mia und Misha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mit ihrem Projekt \u2018Bakterien auf dem Speiseplan 2.0\u2019 haben sie gerade den Landeswettbewerb von Jugend forscht<\/a> in Hessen gewonnen. Ende Mai folgt der Bundeswettbewerb<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Im MakerLab ihrer Schule hatten die beiden Sch\u00fclerinnen ihre Forschung anf\u00e4nglich ins Rollen gebracht. Hier werden 30 Projekte aus verschiedenen Schulzweigen betreut. Sch\u00fclerinnen und Sch\u00fcler k\u00f6nnen selbst\u00e4ndig an kreativen L\u00f6sungen von Forscherfragen aus den Bereichen Physik, Biologie, Chemie, Informatik, Sensorik oder Maschinenbau arbeiten. Das MakerLab nimmt regelm\u00e4\u00dfig mit hoher Erfolgsquote an Jugend forscht Wettbewerben teil, und viele Absolventinnen und Absolventen beginnen naturwissenschaftliche Ausbildungen oder Studieng\u00e4nge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIch freue mich sehr, dass Misha und Mia dieses Projekt mit allen H\u00f6hen und Tiefen konsequent vorangetrieben haben,\u201d sagte Petra Leidert, Leiterin des \u2018Jugend forscht MakerLab\u2019 des Schuldorf Bergstra\u00dfe. \u201cGerade zu Anfang war nicht absehbar, ob sie einen spezifischen Phagen in einem \u00fcberschaubaren Zeitraum finden w\u00fcrden, um dann auch den eigentlichen Hauptteil, die Charakterisierung, vor dem Wettbewerb zu bewerkstelligen. Und wie oft kommt es schon vor, dass Sch\u00fcler einen neuen Organismus finden?\u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Supported by EMBL services, students Misha Hegde & Mia Maurer have identified a previously unknown bacteriophage that targets Rhizobium rhizogenes, a pathogen harming crops. Using cutting-edge imaging and DNA sequencing at EMBL Heidelberg, they are exploring its potential as a natural alternative…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":74127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17591],"tags":[227,42,43,79,1748,11419],"embl_taxonomy":[19159,3974,5158,3744,19333,19375,1032,1804,19155],"class_list":["post-74113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-technology","tag-core-facility","tag-genomics","tag-heidelberg","tag-microscopy","tag-press-release","tag-services","embl_taxonomy-access-to-infrastructures","embl_taxonomy-electron-microscopy-core-facility","embl_taxonomy-embl-imaging-centre","embl_taxonomy-genomics-core-facility","embl_taxonomy-mattei-team","embl_taxonomy-schwab-team","embl_taxonomy-services","embl_taxonomy-services-and-facilities","embl_taxonomy-vladimir-benes"],"acf":{"vfwp-news_embl_taxonomy":[19159,1804,1032,19375,19155,19333,5158,3974,3744],"featured":true,"show_featured_image":false,"field_target_display":"embl","field_article_language":{"value":"english","label":"English"},"article_intro":" Secondary school students Misha Hegde and Mia Maurer are investigating whether special viruses, called bacteriophages, can be used as biological pesticides against pathogenic bacteria in plants<\/p>\n","related_links":[{"link_description":"About EMBL's scientific services and core facilities","link_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/services-facilities\/"},{"link_description":"German 'Jugend forscht' competition","link_url":"https:\/\/www.jugend-forscht.de\/"},{"link_description":"Schuldorf Bergstra\u00dfe, Seeheim-Jugenheim","link_url":"https:\/\/www.schuldorf.de\/"}],"source_article":false,"in_this_article":false,"press_contact":"EMBL Generic","article_translations":[{"translation_language":"Deutsch","translation_anchor":"#Deutsch"}],"languages":""},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"42b86629-bf66-44cd-b9e0-61590f8e8584\";i:2;s:36:\"1a7f157f-a4b1-43dd-addd-456fa9baefd0\";}","parents":[],"name":["Access to Infrastructures "],"slug":"access-to-infrastructures","description":"What > Services at EMBL Hamburg > Access to Infrastructures"},{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"ef0437fc-a5b7-4c73-bcfd-63bff16cb35e\";i:2;s:36:\"705050b6-52b5-4218-a953-68fbb6b0964f\";}","parents":[],"name":["Electron Microscopy Core Facility"],"slug":"electron-microscopy-core-facility","description":"What > Services and facilities > Electron Microscopy Core Facility"},{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"ef0437fc-a5b7-4c73-bcfd-63bff16cb35e\";i:2;s:36:\"41875e2f-34f0-4775-8df3-02ac1e34b0b1\";}","parents":[],"name":["EMBL Imaging Centre"],"slug":"embl-imaging-centre","description":"What > Services and facilities > EMBL Imaging Centre"},{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"ef0437fc-a5b7-4c73-bcfd-63bff16cb35e\";i:2;s:36:\"cb2598c2-41a0-4a75-945b-b058bc2a1e75\";}","parents":[],"name":["Genomics Core Facility"],"slug":"genomics-core-facility","description":"What > Services and facilities > Genomics Core Facility"},{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"bd910dd7-0cda-4618-8bfa-d37fbda8438e\";i:2;s:36:\"01081f52-2c41-4792-9977-a185709c60d6\";}","parents":[],"name":["Mattei Team"],"slug":"mattei-team","description":"What > Molecular Systems Biology > Mattei Team"},{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"64999cc4-9a7c-4fea-8339-0e2acc990e08\";i:2;s:36:\"2dcf8b52-afa2-431f-84be-1bb3efe757e5\";}","parents":[],"name":["Schwab Team"],"slug":"schwab-team","description":"What > Cell biology and biophysics > Schwab Team"},{"uuid":"a:2:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"bfe94a73-f824-4d5c-adf1-5d6656be15cd\";}","parents":[],"name":["Services"],"slug":"services","description":"What > Services"},{"uuid":"a:2:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"ef0437fc-a5b7-4c73-bcfd-63bff16cb35e\";}","parents":[],"name":["Services and facilities"],"slug":"services-and-facilities","description":"What > Services and facilities"},{"uuid":"a:2:{i:0;s:36:\"4428d1fd-441a-4d6d-a1c5-5dcf5665f213\";i:1;s:36:\"46237673-5674-43cc-81af-43d32737598b\";}","parents":[],"name":["Vladimir Benes"],"slug":"vladimir-benes","description":"Who > Vladimir Benes"}],"yoast_head":"\nCutting-edge services: EMBL supports student research on new phage <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
All set for the national <\/strong>‘Jugend forscht<\/strong>\u2019 competition <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMini-Viren gegen Pflanzensch\u00e4dlinge: Jugend forscht am EMBL Heidelberg<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Die Sch\u00fclerinnen Misha Hegde und Mia Maurer untersuchen, ob spezielle Viren, sogenannte Bakteriophagen, als biologische Sch\u00e4dlingsbek\u00e4mpfungsmittel gegen krankheitserregende Bakterien in Pflanzen eingesetzt werden k\u00f6nnen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hochmoderne Services: EMBL unterst\u00fctzt Sch\u00fclerforschung an neuem Phagen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201eMit jeder neuen Methode kamen wir unserem Beweis einen Schritt n\u00e4her, dass es sich um einen neuartigen Phagen handelt. Wir haben im letzten Jahr sehr viel Spa\u00df daran gehabt, neue Techniken im Bereich Molekularbiologie und Mikrobiologie sowie die Theorie dahinter zu erlernen,\u201d sagte Misha Hegde.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nBereit f\u00fcr den Bundeswettbewerb Jugend forscht<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n