(DNA) Fingerprinting the Culprit in Food Poisoning Case Study A group of scienti
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(DNA) Fingerprinting the Culprit in Food Poisoning Case Study
A group of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) noted 13
cases of *Salmonella enterica *infection in sick people in a dozen states
during November 2008. The typical symptoms of salmonellosis (infection with
salmonella) include vomiting and diarrhea, and may result from ingesting
any of more than 1,500 different *strains, *or unique subspecies, of *S.
enterica. *Two weeks later, a similar outbreak of 27 cases of the disease,
spread across 14 states, was found to be caused by the same strain of the
organism seen in the first outbreak. By February 2009, 682 people from 46
states and Canada had become infected, nine had died, a large corporation
had filed for bankruptcy, and several criminal investigations had begun.
PulseNet is a branch of the CDC that seeks to identify food-borne disease
clusters by carefully studying the bacterial isolates thought to be the
source of an outbreak. Usually this means obtaining DNA profiles, called
*fingerprints*, of each bacterium and using that information to compare
*isolates *(isolated strains of bacteria) from different outbreaks. Because
the fingerprints from the two outbreak strains in this case were similar to
one another—but also different from any fingerprint within the PulseNet
database—CDC scientists initiated an epidemiological investigation.
*S. enterica *was identified in unopened 5-pound containers of King Nut
peanut butter in Minnesota and Connecticut, in the peanut butter factory,
and in bacteria isolated from the patients. At the time, King Nut peanut
butter was manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) in
Blakely, Georgia, and sold to schools, hospitals, restaurants, cafeterias,
and other large institutions rather than directly to consumers. Examination
of the bacteria revealed several different *S. enterica *strains, but only
a few of them were linked to the illnesses.
A) What chemicals make up DNA?
B) Without knowing the specific details of DNA fingerprinting,
(DNA) Fingerprinting the Culprit in Food Poisoning Case Study
A group of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) noted 13
cases of *Salmonella enterica *infection in sick people in a dozen states
during November 2008. The typical symptoms of salmonellosis (infection with
salmonella) include vomiting and diarrhea, and may result from ingesting
any of more than 1,500 different *strains, *or unique subspecies, of *S.
enterica. *Two weeks later, a similar outbreak of 27 cases of the disease,
spread across 14 states, was found to be caused by the same strain of the
organism seen in the first outbreak. By February 2009, 682 people from 46
states and Canada had become infected, nine had died, a large corporation
had filed for bankruptcy, and several criminal investigations had begun.
PulseNet is a branch of the CDC that seeks to identify food-borne disease
clusters by carefully studying the bacterial isolates thought to be the
source of an outbreak. Usually this means obtaining DNA profiles, called
*fingerprints*, of each bacterium and using that information to compare
*isolates *(isolated strains of bacteria) from different outbreaks. Because
the fingerprints from the two outbreak strains in this case were similar to
one another—but also different from any fingerprint within the PulseNet
database—CDC scientists initiated an epidemiological investigation.
*S. enterica *was identified in unopened 5-pound containers of King Nut
peanut butter in Minnesota and Connecticut, in the peanut butter factory,
and in bacteria isolated from the patients. At the time, King Nut peanut
butter was manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) in
Blakely, Georgia, and sold to schools, hospitals, restaurants, cafeterias,
and other large institutions rather than directly to consumers. Examination
of the bacteria revealed several different *S. enterica *strains, but only
a few of them were linked to the illnesses.
A) What chemicals make up DNA?
B) Without knowing the specific details of DNA fingerprinting, clusters by carefully studying the bacterial isolates thought to be the
source of an outbreak. Usually this means obtaining DNA profiles, called
*fingerprints*, of each bacterium and using that information to compare
*isolates *(isolated strains of bacteria) from different outbreaks. Because
the fingerprints from the two outbreak strains in this case were similar to
one another—but also different from any fingerprint within the PulseNet
database—CDC scientists initiated an epidemiological investigation.
*S. enterica *was identified in unopened 5-pound containers of King Nut
peanut butter in Minnesota and Connecticut, in the peanut butter factory,
and in bacteria isolated from the patients. At the time, King Nut peanut
butter was manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) in
Blakely, Georgia, and sold to schools, hospitals, restaurants, cafeterias,
and other large institutions rather than directly to consumers. Examination
of the bacteria revealed several different *S. enterica *strains, but only
a few of them were linked to the illnesses.
A) What chemicals make up DNA?
B) Without knowing the specific details of DNA fingerprinting,
Explanation / Answer
Answer:
A. DNA is made up of molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a phosphate group, a sugar group and a nitrogen base. The four types of nitrogen bases are adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C). A number of nucleotides joining together through phosphodiester linkages to form a polynucleotide.
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