In article <3bdh4t$50o at usenet.srv.cis.pitt.edu>, rrk1 at vms.cis.pitt.edu writes:
> I have been working with a strain of E. coli which does not have
> the characteristic E.coli smell. This would, by itself f, be
> unremarkable except that I recently started a new plate culture of the strain
> from deep (-80) storage and noticed that the oder had returned.
> Because of this I began to wonder at the nature of the oder itself and
> whether or not the smell was a reliable trait for characterizing strains
> of E.coli. Actually I was wondering whether my working culture was somehow
> different form my stored culture. Does anyone out there know the about
> what generates the distinctive smell of E. coli and whether or not it
> is a variable trait?
> You can post your responses or contact me by E-mail. Thanks
> Rick Koepsel
> Department of Microbiology
> School of Dental Medicine
> University of Pittsburgh
>rrk1+ at pitt.edu
I work with several strains of E. coli, and each does seem to have it's
characteristic smell. One particular strain, a plsB mutant (defective in
membrane phospholipid biosynthesis - along with a few other things) smells
almost sweet. It's quite pleasant! :O) (Or maybe I'm just used to it). The
smell is always associated with the strain, and with similar strains (when
moving the plsB allele into other backgrounds). If your strain has changed its
odor, I would do a phenotype test to make sure its still OK.
Pease post followups!
Richard.
