In article <325AD155.4114 at qmgate.anl.gov>, Mark Fuller
<mark_fuller at qmgate.anl.gov> writes:
>Peter Lawrence wrote:
>> Could some one please send information on environmental bacteria
>> identification kits like the ones used for clinical work..Thanks
>>lawrencp at wheat.mnsfld.edu
Mark replied:
>for environmental isolates? =8A good luck! Gram Negs are usually easily
=
>identified using Biolog, but forget it with gram positives. The best =
>bet, if you don't have a lot of samples is to send them out for fatty =
>acid analysis at $45-65 a pop.
Soil has the greatest diversity of all ecosystems. When I am assigned to
discover a new antibiotic, I screen about 4-5000 isolates from the soil.
These isolates are generally unidentifiable by any method. It was
estimated by University of Wisconsin Dr. Alice Goldsby that 99% of the
soil bacteria have yet to be cultured and 99.9 have yet to be identified.
I agree. PCR and genetic analysis will help because the cells in a
viable-but-non-culturable state will still be able to be analyzed.
DuPont makes an identification machine that does the most so far. It
think it costs $100,000 or more. I think Del Monte foods in California
uses it.
Clinical kit are of no use because they have the wrong microbial ecology
database.
BTW, I disagree with Mark, Gram-negatives are not easy to ID and Fatty
acid analysis is unreliable in that I have not been able to validate it to
FDA audit satisfaction. FDA uses VITEK and API strips. VITEK is best
with _Bacillus_ so you might want to use VITEK.
The only method I have been able to validate close to your soil ID needs
is: VITEK using the industrial environmental data base and the
supplementary react file.
Biolog also was (so far) FDA unvalidatable by me. It has big problems
according to me and the other posts on this newsgroup.
(My business is validation.)
Davin
Davin C. Enigl, MS-MEAS, President-Microbiologist
HACCP Validations-sm
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points for the Food, Cosmetic,
Pharmaceutical, and Nutritional Supplement Industry
Voice: (916) 989-8264, Fax: (916) 989-8205, Pager: (714) 725-7695
9040 Erle Blunden Way
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
October 11, 1996
1:22 pm
