Heavy Metal Resistance in the Genus Gluconobacter

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dc.contributor.authorBurnley, Leigh-Emmaen
dc.contributor.committeechairClaus, George Williamen
dc.contributor.committeememberYousten, Allan A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberPopham, David L.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiologyen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:49:04Zen
dc.date.adate2001-01-23en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:49:04Zen
dc.date.issued2000-11-10en
dc.date.rdate2002-01-23en
dc.date.sdate2000-12-07en
dc.description.abstractThe genus Gluconobacter is industrially important due to the ability to accomplish unusual and almost complete oxidation reactions (bioconversions) and to contaminate high sugar content products. Following preliminary evidence that some strains of Gluconobacter were resistant to cadmium, and realizing that cadmium resistance among gram-negative organisms is often encoded by an operon which also encodes cobalt and zinc resistance via an efflux mechanism, 10 strains of Gluconobacter were tested for heavy-metal resistance. Three of the 10 representative strains appeared to be resistant to cadmium chloride, and two were also resistant to cobalt- and zinc chloride. These strains, as well as two cadmium-sensitive strains were analyzed using PCR and sequencing to establish gene homology with Ralstonia eutropha, the most frequently studied Gram-negative bacterium exhibiting cadmium resistance. Amplification of two genes from the czc operon, known to encode cadmium, cobalt and zinc resistance in Ralstonia, was attempted in the three resistant and two sensitive strains of Gluconobacter. The gene, czcA, thought to encode the main pump protein of the efflux mechanism, was found in all Gluconobacter strains tested. However, amplification of a regulatory gene czcD, thought to sense the extracellular metal ion concentration, was not possible in the Gluconobacter strains tested. The PCR products were sequenced and analyzed for homology to the czc operon in Ralstonia. From the data gathered, it appears as though some strains of Gluconobacter contain at least a portion of the czc operon , encoding cadmium, cobalt and zinc resistance in Ralstonia eutropha.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-12072000-151028en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12072000-151028/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/35993en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartThesis.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectGluconobacteren
dc.subjectzincen
dc.subjectcadmiumen
dc.subjectplasmidsen
dc.subjectheavy metal resistanceen
dc.subjectRalstoniaen
dc.subjectcobolten
dc.subjectczcen
dc.titleHeavy Metal Resistance in the Genus Gluconobacteren
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineBiologyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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