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Carbohydrate Markers of Organism Purity and Growth Environment

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Chemical and Physical Signatures for Microbial Forensics

Part of the book series: Infectious Disease ((ID))

Abstract

Recent experience with Bacillus spore characterization has demonstrated that carbohydrate content can provide potentially useful bioforensics information. Like other metabolites, the carbohydrate profiles of a sample can reflect variations in cellular structures as well as presence of residual carbohydrates from the medium. The presence and characteristics of residual carbohydrates, such as agar, represent strong indicators of culturing method. The culturing method is but one part of the biological production process. Methods to detect residual carbohydrates can be extended to other carbohydrates commonly used in processing and preservation of microbes and their components in a dry form.

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Acknowledgments

A portion of this work was supported by the US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology within the bioforensics program at The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which is operated by Battelle for the US Department of Energy, under contract DE-AC05-76RLO1830. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be implied as representing the official policies either express or implied by the US government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical and Biological Signature Sciences, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA

    David S. Wunschel Ph.D.

  2. Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    Alvin Fox Ph.D.

Authors
  1. David S. Wunschel Ph.D.
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  2. Alvin Fox Ph.D.
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Correspondence to David S. Wunschel Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009, West Australia, Australia

    John B. Cliff

  2. Chemical and Biological Signature Scienc, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MS P7-50, Richland, 99352, Washington, USA

    Helen W. Kreuzer

  3. Department of Forensic Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1020 W. Main Street, Richmond, 23284, Virginia, USA

    Christopher J. Ehrhardt

  4. Chemical and Biological Signature Scienc, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MS P7-50, Richland, 99352, Washington, USA

    David S. Wunschel

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Wunschel, D.S., Fox, A. (2012). Carbohydrate Markers of Organism Purity and Growth Environment. In: Cliff, J., Kreuzer, H., Ehrhardt, C., Wunschel, D. (eds) Chemical and Physical Signatures for Microbial Forensics. Infectious Disease. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-219-3_4

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