Ask A Scientist© Molecular Biology Archive

>
> > >   name        nattaya
> > >   status      student
> > >   age         20s
>
> > >   Question -  Which solid culture can T. ferrooxidans grow well?
> >
>A quick search in PubMed came up with the following
>reference:
>
>  J Bacteriol 1988 Sep;170(9):3915-23
>
>                                        Published
>erratum appears in J Bacteriol 1989 Jan;171(1):624
>
>   Phenotypic switching of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans.
>
>  Schrader JA, Holmes DS
>  Two solid medium formulations, designated 100:10 and
>10:10, were developed for the growth of
>   Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. The new media contain a
>mixture of both ferrous iron and thiosulfate as
>  available energy sources, permitting the detection of
>colony morphology variants that arise spontaneously
>in a wild-type population. Several morphological and
>physiological characteristics of a class of T.
>ferrooxidans variants, termed LSC for large spreading
>colony, are described. LSC variants lack the ability
>to oxidize iron but retain the capacity to utilize
>thiosulfate or tetrathionate as energy sources. An LSC
>colony spreads on the surface of solid 100:10 medium
>as a monolayer of cells in a fashion resembling that
>of certain swarming or gliding bacteria. The LSC
>variant reverts to a parental wild type at
>frequencies that vary in different independently
>arising isolates. The identity of the LSC variant as a
>derivative of the parental wild-type T. ferrooxidans
>was established by Southern blot hybridization.
>
>Check in your library.
>T. Wassenaar
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