eCommons

 

Identification of Possible Virulence Factors in the Broad-spectrum Pathogen Serratia marcescens

Other Titles

Abstract

The identification and characterization of bacterial virulence factors is important for effective treatment of bacterial infections, especially in the case of opportunistic human pathogens like Serratia marcescens. In this study I assess the virulence level of five S. marcescens strains by infecting Drosophila melanogaster, a natural host of the pathogen. I had the genomes of these strains sequenced using high-throughput Illumina-Solexa technology, and compared the whole genomes of a highly virulent S. marcescens strain and a non-virulent one to find genes or regions that were absent in the non-virulent strain. Forty-nine putative virulence genes were identified by sequence homology to genes involved in virulence in other pathogens. These putative virulence genes were located in fourteen genetic regions that were missing in the non-virulent strain. These potential virulence factors may prove to be important in the pathogenicity of Serratia marcescens against a broad spectrum of natural hosts.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2010-08-14T17:05:58Z

Publisher

Keywords

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Degree Discipline

Degree Name

Degree Level

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

dissertation or thesis

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record