Analytical Use of Luminous Bacteria in Veterinary and Medical Microbiology

Abstract

The use of intact luminous bacteria for analytical purposes has some clear advantages. Intact luminous bacteria are self-maintaining luminescent units and the in vivo luminescence of a single bacterium can be detected with the aid of a scintillation counter. In addition to naturally occurring species of luminous bacteria (Photobacterium and Vibrio), we cloned the luminescent system into different gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. The luminous bacteria may be lyophilized and stored for many months in a cold room. Such lyophilized cultures promptly resume their full level of in vivo luminescence upon hydration.