Raoultella planticola

Raoultella planticola
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Gammaproteobacteria
Order: Enterobacteriales
Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: Raoultella
Species: R. planticola
Binomial name
Raoultella planticola
Bagley et al. 1982[1]
Synonyms

Klebsiella planticola,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Klebsiella trevisanii[9]

Raoultella planticola is a Gram-negative bacterium of the genus Raoultella.[5][10][11][12][13][14][15] A number of strains have been identified.[16][17] R. planticola has been determined to have complicated at least one case of severe pancreatitis.[18]

The development of a genetically modified version of this bacterium that produces alcohol has been a source of controversy.[19] Some people believe the alcohol-producing strain has the potential to kill many or all terrestrial plant species and this is sometimes cited as an example of the dangers of genetically modified organisms.[20]

Genetic modification

In the early 1990s a biotech company set out to solve a problem: how to destroy crop residue safely. Some crops' residues harbor plant pathogens. Burning is occasionally used to destroy the residue and pathogens, but this is a fire hazard and can be dangerous for the environment. This company realized that, because R. planticola is an aggressive and abundant soil bacteria, it could be genetically modified to destroy crop residue and also create ethanol.

Testing of this process, however, was limited to sterile soil. An independent group, testing in non-sterile (ordinary) soil, found that the modified bacteria caused mass plant death from the ethanol production. As a result, some speculated that without independent test, the bacteria could have spread to contaminate the biosphere where it would cause worldwide plant death.[21][22]

Taxonomic reclassification

Raoultella planticola was formerly classified as part of the genus Klebsiella. It was reclassified along with several other Klebsiella species in 2001.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Namebank Record Detail. Ubio.org (2003-04-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  2. ↑ Namebank Record Detail. Ubio.org (2005-09-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  3. ↑ Taxonomy browser (Raoultella planticola). Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  4. ↑ Klebsiella cf. planticola B43 - Encyclopedia of Life. EOL (2011-09-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  5. 1 2 "2010 Annual Checklist :: Species details". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  6. ↑ Namebank Record Detail. Ubio.org (2003-04-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  7. ↑ Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  8. ↑ Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  9. ↑ Raoultella planticola. Thelabrat.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  10. ↑ Raoultella planticola. Zipcodezoo.com (2009-04-06). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  11. ↑ Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  12. ↑ Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  13. ↑ Namebank Record Detail. Ubio.org (2005-09-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  14. ↑ NLBIF : Raoultella planticola (Bagley et al. 1982) Drancourt et al. 2001. Nlbif.nl. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  15. ↑ Raoultella planticola - Encyclopedia of Life. EOL. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  16. ↑ Raoultella planticola (Klebsiella planticola). Uniprot.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  17. ↑ Raoultella planticola Taxon Passport. StrainInfo. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  18. ↑ Alves MS, Riley LW, Moreira BM (May 2007). "A case of severe pancreatitis complicated by Raoultella planticola infection". J. Med. Microbiol. 56 (Pt 5): 696–8. doi:10.1099/jmm.0.46889-0. PMID 17446297.
  19. ↑ http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/8951-full-story-of-the-dr-elaine-ingham-controversy-over-klebsiella-p
  20. ↑ Holmes, Michael T (1995). Ecological assessment after the addition of genetically engineered Klebsiella planticola SDF20 into soil (Ph.D.). Oregon State University.
  21. ↑ "Klebsiella planticola--The Gene-Altered Monster That Almost Got Away". San Francisco State University. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  22. ↑ Ingham, Elaine (Winter 1999). "Good Intentions and Engineering Organisms That Kill Wheat". Synthesis/Regeneration 18. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  23. ↑ Drancourt, M; Bollet, C; Carta, A; Rousselier, P (2001). "Phylogenetic analyses of Klebsiella species delineate Klebsiella And raoultella gen. nov., with description of Raoultella ornithinolytica comb. Nov., Raoultella terrigena comb. Nov. And Raoultella planticola comb. Nov". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 51 (Pt 3): 925–32. doi:10.1099/00207713-51-3-925. PMID 11411716.

Further reading

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, May 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.