Viral bacteria engineered to spot E. coli
By Don Schrack
Source of Article: http://thepacker.com/icms/_dtaa2/content/wrapper.asp?alink=2008-114025-188.asp&stype=topnews&fb=
(Oct. 2, 11:40 a.m.) Intelliphage,
“The beauty of this system is we believe it’s going to be very cheap,” said
Bruce Applegate, a founder of Intelliphage and an
associate professor at
Applegate and his research staff modified an existing bacterial virus — or
phage — specific to E. coli 15787. When the E. coli is present, the phage turns
bright red.
“The phage will actually bind to the bacteria, which is
usually irreversible, and inject their DNA into the bacteria,” Applegate said.
“That will cause the bacteria to make more phage.”
When the phage attaches to the E. coli, the color change can become apparent
within four hours, Applegate said. Other applications can take 24 hours or
longer, he said. The Intelliphage product is not yet
available for commercial application.
“Right now, we’re a just startup company, so we’re looking for money,”
Applegate said. “But it could go very, very quickly, because it’s not going to
take a lot of money.”
Commercial packinghouses that use the Intelliphage
technology will require little or no investment, Applegate said.
Most food companies already have the equipment needed to detect the luminescent
bacteria, he said.
The Intelliphage technology permits the recovery of
the bacteria, which Applegate said is critical in the event of a recall when a
food company is trying to track a contaminant to its source.
Other Intelliphage products that target other
bacteria may soon follow the E. coli technology.
“Because we know so much about this phage, we can just change its specificity
to go after salmonella or other strains,” Applegate said. “Phage detection has
been around for a while, but it’s as if no one has bothered to take it to
practical application.”
An Intelliphage product that detects listeria is being prepared for license, Applegate said.
Because the bioluminescent phage is grown in bacteria, the big hurdle in
producing large quantities, he said, is the danger of having substantial
amounts of E. coli in the laboratory and the potential for accidental release. Intelliphage has cleared that hurdle.
“We’ve actually figured out a way to grow this phage in an E. coli host that is
commonly used in laboratories and is not pathogenic,” Applegate said.
In the past, Applegate said, the problem with using phage to detect and
concentrate bacteria was the bacteria would develop resistant strains. He
likened the problem to a physician’s using antibiotics to treat patients over a
long period of time.
“Because we’ve genetically engineered the phage, we can control the conditions,”
he said.
While the Intelliphage products may speed detection
of bacteria in commercial packing operations, their use may be as valuable in
even the poorest of countries.
“We’re looking at it in terms of … countries where there may be no electricity,”
Applegate said. “As long as the bacteria are growing and there are enough
available, you’re going to see it.”
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