Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Biology
Date of Award
12-2001
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Bert C. Lampson
Committee Members
Lee M. Pike, Eric L. Mustain
Abstract
Rhodococcus, a soil bacterium, displays a diverse range of metabolic capabilities with a number of potential practical applications. To exploit the metabolic potential of Rhodococcus, their basic physiology, genetics, and especially the acquisition of essential nutrients like iron, must be understood.
R. erythropolis strain IGTS8 releases a small compound called a siderophore, that scavenges ferric iron from the environment. To learn more about the genetic control of iron acquisition, mutant(s) defective in siderophore production were isolated. Mutants were generated, by inserting a mutagenic plasmid, pJCS506, into the bacterial cell using electroporation. The plasmid, which cannot replicate in these bacterial cells, randomly inserts into the R. erythropolis genome producing mutations. The potential mutants were detected by screening on a chrome azurol S plate, which detects siderophore production. Colonies that failed to produce siderophore were tested by liquid assays. The strain N5-59 was confirmed as a non-siderophore producing mutant by liquid assays.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Vellore, Jaishree M., "Iron Acquisition in Rhodococcus erythrolpolis: the Isolation of Mutant(s) that Do Not Produce a Siderophore." (2001). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 41. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/41
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.