Ouachita Baptist University 2 articles published in JoVE Biology An Adapted Optical Density-Based Microplate Assay for Characterizing Actinobacteriophage Infection Elijah I. Christenson1, Qingyang Zhang2, Ruth Plymale1 1Department of Biology, Ouachita Baptist University, 2Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Arkansas An optical density-based microplate method is described to quantify long-term bacterial growth in the presence of bacteriophages, suitable for actinomycetes and other slow-growing bacteria. This method includes modifications to reduce evaporation and lid condensation and R code to calculate virus infection metrics, including the area under the curve, growth maximum, and relative virulence. Biology Rapid Verification of Terminators Using the pGR-Blue Plasmid and Golden Gate Assembly Jace C. Bradshaw1, Allea Belle Gongola1, Nathan S. Reyna1 1Department of Biology, Ouachita Baptist University This protocol utilizes Golden Gate Assembly and the plasmid pGR-blue to rapidly quantify the strength of terminators found in silico.