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11:04
The Citrobacter rodentium Mouse Model: Studying Pathogen and Host Contributions to Infectious Colitis
Published on: February 19, 2013
A generalized transducing phage for the murine pathogen Citrobacter rodentium
Nicola K Petty1, Ana L Toribio2, David Goulding2
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK.
Microbiology (Reading, England)
|September 5, 2007
Summary
Researchers isolated phiCR1, a novel bacteriophage, for studying Citrobacter rodentium, a mouse pathogen. This transducing phage will aid in understanding C. rodentium and related human pathogens.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacteriology
- Virology
Background:
- Citrobacter rodentium is a natural pathogen of mice, inducing transmissible murine colonic hyperplasia.
- C. rodentium serves as a crucial model organism for studying human pathogens like enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC).
Purpose of the Study:
- To isolate and characterize a novel bacteriophage for Citrobacter rodentium.
- To establish a tool for functional genomic analysis of C. rodentium.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and characterization of a virulent phage (phiCR1) from the environment.
- Determination of phage receptor specificity (lipopolysaccharide).
- Assessment of the phage's transduction capabilities for various markers.
Main Results:
- phiCR1, a virulent phage, was successfully isolated and characterized.
- phiCR1 utilizes a lipopolysaccharide receptor and possesses a genome of approximately 300 kb.
- The phage demonstrated the ability to transduce a variety of genetic markers in C. rodentium.
Conclusions:
- phiCR1 is the first reported transducing phage for Citrobacter rodentium.
- This phage represents a valuable new tool for functional genomic studies of this important murine pathogen.
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