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Detection of Bacteria with Bioluminescent Reporter Bacteriophage

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Bioluminescence: Fundamentals and Applications in Biotechnology - Volume 1

Part of the book series: Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology ((ABE,volume 144))

Abstract

Bacteriophages are viruses that exclusively infect bacteria. They are ideally suited for the development of highly specific diagnostic assay systems. Bioluminescent reporter bacteriophages are designed and constructed by integration of a luciferase gene in the virus genome. Relying on the host specificity of the phage, the system enables rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of bacterial pathogens. A bioluminescent reporter phage assay is superior to any other molecular detection method, because gene expression and light emission are dependent on an active metabolism of the bacterial cell, and only viable cells will yield a signal. In this chapter we introduce the concept of creating reporter phages, discuss their advantages and disadvantages, and illustrate the advances made in developing such systems for different Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. The application of bioluminescent reporter phages for the detection of foodborne pathogens is emphasized.

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Abbreviations

d:

Day(s)

g:

Gram(s)

h:

Hour(s)

L:

Liter(s)

min:

Minute(s)

ml:

Milliliter(s)

mol:

Mole(s)

s:

Second(s)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Jochen Klumpp & Martin J. Loessner

Authors
  1. Jochen Klumpp
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  2. Martin J. Loessner
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Correspondence to Martin J. Loessner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Adjoint expertise R&D DRRT, Université de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6144, Deputy Dean For Research and Technology, La Roche sur Yon - France, France

    Gérald Thouand

  2. National Institute for Biotechnology in Ben Gurion University, Beersheba, Israel

    Robert Marks

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Klumpp, J., Loessner, M.J. (2014). Detection of Bacteria with Bioluminescent Reporter Bacteriophage. In: Thouand, G., Marks, R. (eds) Bioluminescence: Fundamentals and Applications in Biotechnology - Volume 1. Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology, vol 144. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43385-0_5

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