MadSci Network: Microbiology
Query:

Re: What are these bacteria used for?

Date: Wed Jun 27 00:06:58 2001
Posted By: Neil Saunders, Research fellow
Area of science: Microbiology
ID: 984794035.Mi
Message:

Hi Amy,

Thanks for your question. Pseudomonas fragi and Pseudomonas fluorescens are both very interesting bacteria and a lot of microbiological research is carried out using these two species.

To start with Pseudomonas fragi, this bacterium is psychrotrophic. This means it can grow at low temperatures (the word comes from Greek- psychro=cold, trophic=feeding)-it grows best near 30 degrees celcius, but can grow from 2-35 degrees. P. fragi is often a major cause of spoilage in refrigerated meat, because it can grow at low temperature. This is why there is a lot of research on this organism-it would be helpful to find a way of inhibiting its growth, or preventing it from attaching to meat and other food stuffs.

Turning to Pseudomonas fluorescens, there are many different strains of this bacterial species found in a lot of different environments such as soil, water and plant surfaces. The strains have very diverse metabolisms, meaning that they can grow on a wide range of chemicals and produce a range of compounds, many of which are of commercial interest. For instance, P. fluorescens is often able to break down toxic substances and could therefore be used in bioremediation-this is the use of microorganisms to clean up toxic waste, e.g. in dump sites. Some strains of P. fluorescens produce substances that protect the roots of plants from infection by fungi, and so can be important for agriculture. And some strains are pathogenic to humans, often infecting wounds after surgery. So there is a lot of interest in P. fluorescens in many areas of biological science.

P. fluorescens is judged so important that it's one of the organisms for which its complete genome sequence is being determined-you can read more about that at this website. And if you use one of the big Internet search engines like Google, I'm sure you'll find lots of pages with information about both organisms.

I hope this helps answer your question,
Neil Saunders


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