Acoustic Emission of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis C2 Infected with Three Bacteriophages c2, sk1 and ml3

Abstract

OF THESIS Acoustic emission of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis C2 infected with three bacteriophages c2, sk1 and ml3. The objective of this research was to monitor the Acoustic Emission (AE) produced by Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis C2 infected with three bacteriophages (c2, sk1 and ml3 at 90 min) using an acoustic emission-monitoring device which was designed at University of Kentucky in Lexington KY. The acoustic emission data was collected and then analyzed. These Acoustic Emission (AE) data suggested that bacteriophage ml3, sk1 and c2 can easily be distinguished by the differences in Absolute Energy (ABE), Centroid Frequency (CF) and Peak Frequency (PF) signals. The AE data suggested that bacteriophage sk1 and c2 caused greater stress on the lactis C2 than bacteriophage ml3. When the bacteriophage were added to the lactis C2 at 90 min, the host bacteria shifted from cell division processes to the development of bacteriophage replications. When the bacteriophage replications were initiated, the AE information being emitted increased significantly. The distinguishable difference produced by AE could provide a novel method to identify different bacteriophage and track certain metabolic and cell growth parameters of the host bacteria. Further research is still needed to identify where the AE information is being generated and whether all bacteriophage are as different as those used in this study.