Patent ID: 6569635
Filing Date: 2003-05-27
Classification: C12Q,G01N

Abstract:
A method for assessing the physiological status of individual cells of enterobacteria in wastewater or drinking water, comprising:(a) obtaining a sample comprising enterobacteria from the wastewater or drinking water; (b) identifying at least two proteins produced by said enterobacteria, wherein at least one of said proteins (first protein) accumulates during growth phase, and decreases during stationary phase and wherein one of said proteins (second protein) accumulates during stationary phase and decreases during growth phase; (c) contacting the enterobacteria in said sample with a labeled antibody probe to said first protein and with a different labeled antibody probe to said second protein; (d) detecting said first and said second labeled antibody probes associated with the individual cells of enterobacteria in the sample; â€ƒwherein: (i) individual cells of enterobacteria with a detectable level of the antibody probe to said first protein and an undetectable level of the antibody probe to said second protein are in exponential phase; (ii) individual cells of enterobacteria with an undetectable level of the antibody probe to said first protein and a detectable level of the antibody probe to said second protein are in stationary phase; and (iii) individual cells of enterobacteria with a detectable level of the antibody probes to both of said first protein and said second protein indicates enterobacteria in transition between exponential phase and stationary phase or vice versa.