Distribution and Evolution of the Palatinose (pal) operon in Enterobacter sakazakii

dc.contributor.advisorMeng, Jianghongen_US
dc.contributor.authorLamm, Katelyn Amberen_US
dc.contributor.departmentFood Scienceen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2008-08-07T05:31:02Z
dc.date.available2008-08-07T05:31:02Z
dc.date.issued2008-05-05en_US
dc.description.abstractEnterobacter sakazakii, an opportunistic enteric pathogen found in infant milk formula, is associated with outbreaks of meningitis and septicemia among immunocompromised newborns. A biochemical signature of E. sakazakii metabolism is its ability to degrade palatinose. The prevalence of the pal operon among E. sakazakii remains unknown. Studying 144 E. sakazakii strains, the prevalence of five pal genes (palZ, K, Q, E, and G) were assessed. Only 22% of strains retained all five genes in the pal operon, while another 22% of strains retained four of the five genes. Genetic instability of the pal operon was seen in phylogenetic studies which revealed evidence for horizontal gene transfer of the pal genes among strains and revealed variation in the structure and distribution of the pal operon. The genetic instability of the pal genes inferred from this study rejects using this operon as a diagnostic target for E. sakazakii detection in infant formula.en_US
dc.format.extent428226 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/8324
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledAgriculture, Food Science and Technologyen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledEnterobacter sakazakiien_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledpal operonen_US
dc.titleDistribution and Evolution of the Palatinose (pal) operon in Enterobacter sakazakiien_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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