Raoultella planticola

Raoultella planticola
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Gammaproteobacteria
Order: Enterobacteriales
Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: Raoultella
Species: R. planticola
Binomial name
Raoultella planticola
Bagley et al. 1982[1]
Synonyms

Klebsiella planticola,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Klebsiella trevisanii[9]

Raoultella planticola is a Gram-negative bacterium of the genus Raoultella.[5][10][11][12][13][14][15] A number of strains have been identified.[16][17] R. planticola has been determined to have complicated at least one case of severe pancreatitis.[18]


Genetic modification

In the early 1990s a biotech company set out to solve a problem: how to destroy crop residue safely. Some crops' residues harbor plant pathogens. Burning is occasionally used to destroy the residue and pathogens, but this is a fire hazard and can be dangerous for the environment. This company realized that, because R. planticola is an aggressive and abundant soil bacterium, it could be genetically modified to destroy crop residue and also create ethanol.

Testing of this process, however, was limited to sterile soil. Ph. D. research conducted at Oregon State University, supervised by Elaine Ingham, obtained a sample of the genetically modified organism for assessing ecological effects through the German Institut für Biotechnologie and, testing it in non-sterile (ordinary) soil, found that the modified bacteria caused mass plant death from the ethanol production.[19][20][21] R. planticola is ubiquitous, found growing in the root systems of all kinds of plants everywhere.[20] Therefore, some have speculated that without the independent test, the genetically modified bacteria might have been introduced in nature and then could have spread to contaminate the biosphere where it would cause worldwide plant death.[22][20]

Fallacy of GMO claims

Public testimony of Ingham and others claims of "worldwide plant death" attracted attention from the scientific community. They were unable to find any evidence that Dr Ingham had submitted her assertions about threats to terrestrial plant life to scientific publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and no evidence was found to indicate the U.S. EPA or U.S. Dept. of Agriculture had reviewed or approved any trails for SDF20. Additionally, the SDF20 was found to have produce 20 micrograms per milliliter of alcohol in the soil which is several hundred times lower than that required to affect plant growth. [23]

Elaine Ingham has issued a public apology for submitting false claims about ecological impact of GMOs. [24]

The Green Party has issued a public apology for misleading statements and acknowledging that a cited research was never published. [25]

Taxonomic reclassification

Raoultella planticola was formerly classified as part of the genus Klebsiella. It was reclassified along with several other Klebsiella species in 2001.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Namebank Record Detail. Ubio.org (2003-04-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  2. ↑ Namebank Record Detail. Ubio.org (2005-09-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  3. ↑ Taxonomy browser (Raoultella planticola). Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  4. ↑ Klebsiella cf. planticola B43 - Encyclopedia of Life. EOL (2011-09-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  5. 1 2 "2010 Annual Checklist :: Species details". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  6. ↑ Namebank Record Detail. Ubio.org (2003-04-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  7. ↑ Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  8. ↑ Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  9. ↑ Raoultella planticola. Thelabrat.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  10. ↑ Raoultella planticola. Zipcodezoo.com (2009-04-06). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  11. ↑ Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  12. ↑ Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  13. ↑ Namebank Record Detail. Ubio.org (2005-09-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  14. ↑ NLBIF : Raoultella planticola (Bagley et al. 1982) Drancourt et al. 2001. Nlbif.nl. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  15. ↑ Raoultella planticola - Encyclopedia of Life. EOL. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  16. ↑ Raoultella planticola (Klebsiella planticola). Uniprot.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  17. ↑ Raoultella planticola Taxon Passport. StrainInfo. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  18. ↑ Alves MS, Riley LW, Moreira BM (May 2007). "A case of severe pancreatitis complicated by Raoultella planticola infection". J. Med. Microbiol. 56 (Pt 5): 696–8. doi:10.1099/jmm.0.46889-0. PMID 17446297.
  19. ↑ Holmes, Michael T (1995). Ecological assessment after the addition of genetically engineered Klebsiella planticola SDF20 into soil (Ph.D.). Oregon State University.
  20. 1 2 3 Elaine Ingham (Winter 1999). "Good Intentions and Engineering Organisms that Kill Wheat". Synthesis/Regeneration. No. 18. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  21. ↑ Holmes, M. T.; Ingham, E. R.; Doyle, J. D.; Hendricks, C. W. (1999-01-03). "Effects of Klebsiella planticola SDF20 on soil biota and wheat growth in sandy soil". Applied Soil Ecology. 11 (1): 67–78. doi:10.1016/S0929-1393(98)00129-2.
  22. ↑ "Klebsiella planticola—The Gene-Altered Monster That Almost Got Away". San Francisco State University. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  23. ↑ Porterfield, Andrew. "Did you hear about the GMO that almost destroyed all life?". geneticliteracyproject.org. Genetic Literacy Project. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  24. ↑ Fletcher, Liz. "New Zealand GMO debacle undermines green lobby". Nature.com. Nature. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  25. ↑ Aotearoa, Green Party of. "Amendment to evidence presented to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Genetic Modification". gene.ch. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  26. ↑ Drancourt, M; Bollet, C; Carta, A; Rousselier, P (2001). "Phylogenetic analyses of Klebsiella species delineate Klebsiella And raoultella gen. nov., with description of Raoultella ornithinolytica comb. Nov., Raoultella terrigena comb. Nov. And Raoultella planticola comb. Nov". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 51 (Pt 3): 925–32. doi:10.1099/00207713-51-3-925. PMID 11411716.

Further reading

External links


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