Using Kanamycin Resistance Bacteria to Find the Sources of Contamination of Three Chicken Farms
Using Kanamycin Resistance Bacteria to find the Sources of Contamination of Three Chicken Farms
Introduction:
Kanamycin is a common antibacterial that interferes with bacterial growth, by inhibiting protein synthesis, and causing the mistranslation of mRNA. Kanamycin is commonly used in chicken feed to keep harmful bacteria from getting into the eggs and producing healthier chickens. Recently reports of severe gastroenteritis have been linked to eating raw or undercooked eggs. This has led to the FDA to look for possible sources of contamination. Scientists have now isolated bacteria from batches of eggs known to cause the illness, and they found that the bacteria are resistant to kanamycin. The contaminated eggs were found to have come from three different chicken farms, Acme, Big AL’s, and Clucky’s chicken farm, that are geographically separate, and are in different states. The scientists also know that there are three different genes responsible for kanamycin resistance, and that these different genes codes for a certain enzyme that alters the kanamycin molecule differently. The enzymes are located between the inner and outer bacterial membranes, and act on the kanamycin after it passes through the outer membrane. The modification of the kanamycin molecule prevents it from being taken up by the inner membrane, preventing it from reaching the ribosomes. Therefore if any bacteria present has one of the three genes for kanamycin resistance, than kanamycin won’t prevent bacterial contamination (Hass C., Woodward D., and Ward A., 2010.). The purpose of this lab was to determine if there was a shared source of contamination for the three chicken farms, and to make recommendations for steps to prevent further outbreaks. The hypothesis is that all the chicken farms shared the same source of contamination. The guiding questions for the lab are what is the concentration of viable bacteria in the original samples from the three chicken farms? And what is the
Introduction:
Kanamycin is a common antibacterial that interferes with bacterial growth, by inhibiting protein synthesis, and causing the mistranslation of mRNA. Kanamycin is commonly used in chicken feed to keep harmful bacteria from getting into the eggs and producing healthier chickens. Recently reports of severe gastroenteritis have been linked to eating raw or undercooked eggs. This has led to the FDA to look for possible sources of contamination. Scientists have now isolated bacteria from batches of eggs known to cause the illness, and they found that the bacteria are resistant to kanamycin. The contaminated eggs were found to have come from three different chicken farms, Acme, Big AL’s, and Clucky’s chicken farm, that are geographically separate, and are in different states. The scientists also know that there are three different genes responsible for kanamycin resistance, and that these different genes codes for a certain enzyme that alters the kanamycin molecule differently. The enzymes are located between the inner and outer bacterial membranes, and act on the kanamycin after it passes through the outer membrane. The modification of the kanamycin molecule prevents it from being taken up by the inner membrane, preventing it from reaching the ribosomes. Therefore if any bacteria present has one of the three genes for kanamycin resistance, than kanamycin won’t prevent bacterial contamination (Hass C., Woodward D., and Ward A., 2010.). The purpose of this lab was to determine if there was a shared source of contamination for the three chicken farms, and to make recommendations for steps to prevent further outbreaks. The hypothesis is that all the chicken farms shared the same source of contamination. The guiding questions for the lab are what is the concentration of viable bacteria in the original samples from the three chicken farms? And what is the