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| Two sequenced Salmonella genomes | |||||
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By Edward R. Winstead October 26, 2001 |
Scientists have sequenced two strains of the Salmonella bacterium, one that causes typhoid, the other food poisoning. The genomes were sequenced separately but are published together in the current issue of Nature.
Julian Parkhill, of the Sanger Centre in Cambridge, UK, and colleagues sequenced a strain of Salmonella from Vietnam that causes typhoid and is resistant to several antibiotics. The bacterium, known as Typhi, has developed the ability to travel from the human intestines to other tissues, including the liver, spleen and bone marrow. It infects millions of individuals worldwide each year and is responsible for 600,000 deaths. Michael McClelland, of Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego, and colleagues sequenced the Salmonella strain known as Typhimurium. In humans, this strain causes an upset stomach, which is unpleasant but not fatal. In mice, it causes a rodent form of typhoid, and the strain is widely used by Salmonella researchers in the laboratory. The sequencing revealed 50 genes for proteins on the surface of the bacterium, which are potential targets for vaccines and drugs.
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