Reseacher of the Week: Neeti Goel

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:25:34 -0500

ABSTRACT: The threat of bacterial pathogens, such as the anthrax-causing Bacillus anthracis, as biological weapons has made it more urgent to understand the mechanism and properties of bacterial endospores. In harsh conditions the bacterium transforms into endospores which can remain dormant for many years and then germinate in favorable conditions, such as a human host. A detailed understanding of certain spore characteristics can help improve the methodology and instruments used by first responders in a biohazard emergency to ensure rapid, accurate, and non-invasive detection. This study attempts to use the characteristic of intrinsic fluorescence to differentiate molecular species by their unique spectra. The effects of certain germinant nutrients and temperature on the growth and germination of the Bacillus spores were also characterized. A comparative analysis was done of the spectra of different strains of Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus (both simulants for Bacillus anthracis) grown in three different growth media. After several calibration curves of Dipicolinic acid (DPA) and DPA complexes were created, the samples were scanned for these endogenous fluorescent molecules. Measurements of the concentration of the fluorescent DPA complexes were used to follow the germination of the spores.

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