You are investigating the cell division of a newly identified pathogen that has a rod shape. The organism's genome has been sequ
enced and thre follwing genes were determined to be associated with establishing the bacterial infection; 1. fla - gene responsible of expressing flagellin protein
2. cap - gene responsible of capsule formation
3. tox - unidetified virulence factor
Use the " Molecular Koch's Postulates" to identify the "tox" gene and if it is associated with the virulence of rod shape bacterial infection.
Be concise yet thorough in your answer indicating your hypothesis and how will you design your experiment to excute each step of the molecular Koch's postulates. Please use the information below and on the link to understand the molecular Koch's postulates.
The postulates as originally described by Falkow are as follows:
"The phenotype or property under investigation should be associated with pathogenic members of a genus or pathogenic strains of a species." Additionally, the gene in question should be found in all pathogenic strains of the genus or species but be absent from nonpathogenic strains[citation needed].
"Specific inactivation of the gene(s) associated with the suspected virulence trait should lead to a measurable loss in pathogenicity or virulence." Virulence of the microorganism with the inactivated gene must be less than that of the unaltered microorganism in an appropriate animal model.
"Reversion or allelic replacement of the mutated gene should lead to restoration of pathogenicity." In other words, reintroduction of the gene into the microbe should restore virulence in the animal model.
There are two kinds of cellular communication: communication between cells is called intercellular signaling, and communication within a cell is called intracellular signaling.
