scholarly journals Detection of Plasmid-Encoded gusA Gene in GUS-Positive Escherichia coli

BioTechniques ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-264
Author(s):  
Mahipal Singh ◽  
Chandan Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Naga Siva Kumar Gunda ◽  
Selvaraj Naicker ◽  
Maryam S. Ghoraishi ◽  
Subir Bhattacharjee ◽  
Thomas G. Thundat ◽  
...  

There is an increasing problem in getting quality water for developing countries. Water system is contaminated and without proper treatment, it has been consumed as drinking water. It is a big problem for health. Escherichia coli (E.coli) is the main cause for the contamination of water and illness in people. Early detection of E.coli presence in the drinking water followed by subsequent treatment for elimination of E.coli can solve this problem. The present work developed a new method for detecting E.coli in contaminated water using microspot with integrated wells (MSIW). The method involves the fabrication of MSIW, coating the MSIW with enzyme substrates such as 4-MUG substrate (4-Methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucuronide, trihydrate) and Red-Gal substrate (6-Chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactoside) in proper medium and dispensing the contaminated water into MSIW. GlucuronidaseA (gusA) gene in E.coli encodes the beta-D-Glucuronidase (GUS) to hydrolyze the substrate 4-MUG enzymatically which leads to the generation of the fluorigenic compound 4-MU. β-galactosidase enzyme in E.coli produces red color when it reacts with Red-Gal substrate. Using portable optical readers, average color/fluorescence intensity emitting by MSIW is measured and quantified. Comparing obtained intensity values with calibrated intensity values, the level of contamination can be predicted for early warnings.


Author(s):  
G. Stöffler ◽  
R.W. Bald ◽  
J. Dieckhoff ◽  
H. Eckhard ◽  
R. Lührmann ◽  
...  

A central step towards an understanding of the structure and function of the Escherichia coli ribosome, a large multicomponent assembly, is the elucidation of the spatial arrangement of its 54 proteins and its three rRNA molecules. The structural organization of ribosomal components has been investigated by a number of experimental approaches. Specific antibodies directed against each of the 54 ribosomal proteins of Escherichia coli have been performed to examine antibody-subunit complexes by electron microscopy. The position of the bound antibody, specific for a particular protein, can be determined; it indicates the location of the corresponding protein on the ribosomal surface.The three-dimensional distribution of each of the 21 small subunit proteins on the ribosomal surface has been determined by immuno electron microscopy: the 21 proteins have been found exposed with altogether 43 antibody binding sites. Each one of 12 proteins showed antibody binding at remote positions on the subunit surface, indicating highly extended conformations of the proteins concerned within the 30S ribosomal subunit; the remaining proteins are, however, not necessarily globular in shape (Fig. 1).


Author(s):  
Manfred E. Bayer

Bacterial viruses adsorb specifically to receptors on the host cell surface. Although the chemical composition of some of the cell wall receptors for bacteriophages of the T-series has been described and the number of receptor sites has been estimated to be 150 to 300 per E. coli cell, the localization of the sites on the bacterial wall has been unknown.When logarithmically growing cells of E. coli are transferred into a medium containing 20% sucrose, the cells plasmolize: the protoplast shrinks and becomes separated from the somewhat rigid cell wall. When these cells are fixed in 8% Formaldehyde, post-fixed in OsO4/uranyl acetate, embedded in Vestopal W, then cut in an ultramicrotome and observed with the electron microscope, the separation of protoplast and wall becomes clearly visible, (Fig. 1, 2). At a number of locations however, the protoplasmic membrane adheres to the wall even under the considerable pull of the shrinking protoplast. Thus numerous connecting bridges are maintained between protoplast and cell wall. Estimations of the total number of such wall/membrane associations yield a number of about 300 per cell.


Author(s):  
Manfred E. Bayer

The first step in the infection of a bacterium by a virus consists of a collision between cell and bacteriophage. The presence of virus-specific receptors on the cell surface will trigger a number of events leading eventually to release of the phage nucleic acid. The execution of the various "steps" in the infection process varies from one virus-type to the other, depending on the anatomy of the virus. Small viruses like ØX 174 and MS2 adsorb directly with their capsid to the bacterial receptors, while other phages possess attachment organelles of varying complexity. In bacteriophages T3 (Fig. 1) and T7 the small conical processes of their heads point toward the adsorption site; a welldefined baseplate is attached to the head of P22; heads without baseplates are not infective.


Author(s):  
A.J. Verkleij

Freeze-fracturing splits membranes into two helves, thus allowing an examination of the membrane interior. The 5-10 rm particles visible on both monolayers are widely assumed to be proteinaceous in nature. Most membranes do not reveal impressions complementary to particles on the opposite fracture face, if the membranes are fractured under conditions without etching. Even if it is considered that shadowing, contamination or fracturing itself might obscure complementary pits', there is no satisfactory explanation why under similar physical circimstances matching halves of other membranes can be visualized. A prominent example of uncomplementarity is found in the erythrocyte manbrane. It is wall established that band 3 protein and possibly glycophorin represents these nonccmplanentary particles. On the other hand a number of membrane types show pits opposite the particles. Scme well known examples are the ";gap junction',"; tight junction, the luminal membrane of the bladder epithelial cells and the outer membrane of Escherichia coli.


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