Raoultella planticola

Human infection

Infections are rare, and mostly seen in immunocompromised patients. R. planticola has been determined to have complicated at least one case of severe pancreatitis.

Strains

A strain of Raoultella planticola, Cd-1 has been found which grows anaerobically at high aqueous cadmium concentrations and precipitates insoluble cadmium sulfide. This strain has been isolated from reducing salt marsh sediments and may be useful in bioremediation of cadmium from exposed soils.

Taxonomic reclassification

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

Genetic modification

In the late 1980s R. planticola was genetically modified by inserting a plasmid from Zymomonas mobilis. This plasmid codes for the enzyme pyruvate decarboxylase which, along with alcohol dehydrogenase already present in the bacteria allow it to produce ethanol. The bacteria already does produce ethanol when metabolizing hexoses and pentoses, but very inefficiently. R. planticola was chosen to receive this gene as it already had metabolic pathways to breakdown pentose sugars such as xylose, which is a main component of agricultural and forest residues. The results showed that the genetically modified strain could produce ethanol but were killed at concentrations of ethanol greater than 5%. The modified strain also produced more ethanol at lower pH (5.4) and ethanol production decreased as pH increased.

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 was originally 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 small amounts of alcohol in the soil.{{cite thesis |type=Ph.D. |first=Michael T |last=Holmes |title=Ecological assessment after the addition of genetically engineered Klebsiella planticola SDF20 into soil

Fallacy of GMO claims

Dr Ingham claimed to a New Zealand Commission that "the likely effect of allowing the field trial with the [genetically modified bacteria in question] would have been to destroy terrestrial plants". Ingham's suggestion of a possibility of "worldwide plant death" attracted attention from the scientific community. However, they were unable to find any evidence that these claims had been submitted 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 trials for SDF20. Additionally, the SDF20 was found to have produced 20 micrograms per milliliter of alcohol in the soil which is several hundred times lower than that required to affect plant growth.

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

The Green Party of New Zealand has issued a public apology for misleading statements and acknowledging that a cited research was never published.

In the episode "The Pyramid at the End of the World" of the BBC television show Doctor Who, the Doctor stops a genetically modified strain of R. planticola from causing a worldwide plant and animal die-off similar to the scenario that some scientists have speculated about.

References

References

1. [http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=227771 Namebank Record Detail]. Ubio.org (2003-04-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
2. [http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=2556337 Namebank Record Detail]. Ubio.org (2005-09-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
3. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&id=575&lvl=3&lin=f&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock Taxonomy browser (Raoultella planticola)]. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
4. [http://www.eol.org/pages/9154443 Klebsiella cf. planticola B43 - Encyclopedia of Life]. EOL (2011-09-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
5. "2010 Annual Checklist :: Species details". Catalogue of Life.
6. [http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=225733 Namebank Record Detail]. Ubio.org (2003-04-28). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
7. [http://data.gbif.org/species/13474360 Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal]. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
8. [http://data.gbif.org/species/browse/taxon/13474360 Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal]. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
9. [http://www.thelabrat.com/protocols/Bacterialspecies/Raoultellaplanticola.shtml Raoultella planticola]. Thelabrat.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
10. (March 1981). "Klebsiella planticola sp. nov.: A new species of enterobacteriaceae found primarily in nonclinical environments". Current Microbiology.
11. [http://zipcodezoo.com/Bacteria/R/Raoultella_planticola/ Raoultella planticola]. Zipcodezoo.com (2009-04-06). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
12. [http://data.gbif.org/species/13469050 Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal]. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
13. [http://data.gbif.org/species/browse/taxon/13469050 Data Use Agreement - GBIF Portal]. Data.gbif.org (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
14. [http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=2558203 Namebank Record Detail]. Ubio.org (2005-09-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
15. [http://www.nlbif.nl/species_details.php?name=Raoultella+planticola NLBIF : Raoultella planticola (Bagley et al. 1982) Drancourt et al. 2001]. Nlbif.nl. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
16. [http://www.eol.org/pages/972639 Raoultella planticola - Encyclopedia of Life]. EOL. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
17. [https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/575 Raoultella planticola (Klebsiella planticola)]. Uniprot.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
18. [http://www.straininfo.net/taxa/3521 Raoultella planticola Taxon Passport] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-07-22 . StrainInfo. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.)
19. (2017). "A Rare Case of Raoultella planticola Pneumonia: An Emerging Pathogen". Respiratory Medicine Case Reports.
20. (2018-09-06). "A clinical vignette on Raoultella planticola bacteremia". Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada.
21. (2017-07-24). "Raoultella Planticola: Bacteremia and Sepsis in a Patient with Cirrhosis". Cureus.
22. (May 2007). "A case of severe pancreatitis complicated by ''Raoultella planticola'' infection". J. Med. Microbiol..
23. (1 July 2000). "A New Klebsiella planticola Strain (Cd-1) Grows Anaerobically at High Cadmium Concentrations and Precipitates Cadmium Sulfide". Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
24. (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.
25. (September 1987). "Fermentation of d-Xylose to Ethanol by Genetically Modified Klebsiella planticola.". Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
26. (August 1989). "Ethanol production from xylose with a pyruvate-formate-lyase mutant of Klebsiella planticola carrying a pyruvate-decarboxylase gene from Zymomonas mobilis". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.
27. Elaine Ingham. (Winter 1999). "Good Intentions and Engineering Organisms that Kill Wheat".
28. (1999-01-03). "Effects of ''Klebsiella planticola'' SDF20 on soil biota and wheat growth in sandy soil". Applied Soil Ecology.
29. "Klebsiella planticola—The Gene-Altered Monster That Almost Got Away".
30. (2001). "New Zealand GMO debacle undermines green lobby". Nature Biotechnology.
31. "Evidence in Rebuttal - Life Sciences Network".
32. (2016-09-06). "Did you hear about the GMO that almost destroyed all life?". Genetic Literacy Project.
33. (2001). "New Zealand GMO debacle undermines green lobby". Nature.
34. "Amendment to evidence presented to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Genetic Modification".