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Detecting a stealth anthrax toxin gene
The truth behind Blast
First inklings of a microbial attack
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You are working at the Center for Disease Control when blood samples cross your desk taken from patients who, after exhibiting flu-like symptoms, rapidly progressed into severe respiratory distress.The patients are related by their place of work, and although the no one is saying anything, the thought of anthrax has certainly crossed your mind.
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Courtesy of Fisher Scientific
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Obviously the first step is to identify a common microbial agent, if one exists. You follow the usual routine for cases of suspected anthrax: PCR out a region of lef, the gene encoding the lethal factor from Bacillus anthracis. You do this first of all to see if the gene is present. The PCR gives a fragment of the expected size, so there's little doubt about the diagnosis of anthrax.
The second step is to sequence the fragment and compare it against known sequences of the gene, hoping to get clues as to the specific strain or strains responsible. All the sequences turn out to be the same. You can see the sequence from one of the samples (DG47) by clicking here.
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