KANAZAWA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH: BIOTECHNOLOGY-BASED GENETIC TYPING OF A BACTERIUM
The genetic typing of the bacterium Pseudomonas putida is described by researchers at Kanazawa University in scientific reports. Normally, the bacterium is not highly infectious but isolated from various clinical sites.
Pseudomonas putida is a bacterium that occurs in soil, water and plants. Although Pseudomonas p. virulence— the bacterium's capacity to invade its host and spread disease — is considered low, the infection may be lethal in severely ill patients. P. putida strains are found in hospitals (also known as isolates), For example, in patients ' urine, blood or wound discharge, and such medical isolates indicate drug resistance. Kohei Ogura and colleagues from Kanazawa University have now conducted gene sequencing of various P. putida isolates from both environmental and medical sites.
Genetic testing of different P. putida strains makes it possible to assess which strains are more virulent. It is important because the biotechnology quality of P. putida is high. P. putida is a perfect platform for 'metabolic engineering,' Where selected biochemical processes are induced within the organism's cells to create more of a specific substance. (The mass development of beer, wine, and cheese are examples of metabolic engineering.)
The researchers used a technique known as multilocus sequence typing (MLST), a tool of genetic typing of more than one locus used in molecular biology — a locus refers to the location on a chromosome where a particular gene is located.
The MLST technique is focused on extracting sequences of DNA from several so-called ' housekeeping genes ': genes needed to maintain a cell's basic functioning. Normally 100 isolates are needed to arrive at a valid MLST scheme. Ogura and his collaborators used 106 isolates, 16 of which came from the community and 90 from medical sites. The researchers used eight housekeeping genes for the MLST scheme.
Not only did the scientists get the first MLST scheme for P. putida, but they were also able to deduce that the isolates of the studied bacteria were clonal, which means they share a common ancestry. At the same time, the researchers found that "our MLST scheme represents the genetic diversity of both medical and environmental sites isolated P. putida community."
