Wisconsin Wildlife Project
Development of F�rster Resonance Energy Transfer Methods for Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin with Application to the Ecology of Type E Botulism in Lake Michigan
September 2009 - July 2011
Personnel
- Michael Samuel, Principal Investigator
- Tim Piazza, Student / Post Doc
Participating Agencies
- National Park Service
- Cooperative Research Unit Program
1. Complete development and validation of FRET technology for the in vitro detection of BoNTs in biological and environmental samples. This will be accomplished by developing pull-down methods for the detection BoNT/E proteolytic activity. FRET methodology will be further developed and validated on archived animal and environmental samples that have been previously characterized for BoNT/E. 2. Following successful test development the FRET assay will be used to identify the degree to which cladophora blooms and the presence of exotic species, such as dreissenid mussels and round gobies, are associated with the occurrence of BoNT/E in the aquatic food web, initially focusing efforts near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Piazza, T. M., D. S. Blehert, F. M. Dunning, B. M. Berlowski-Zier, F. N. Zeytin. M. D. SAMUEL, and W. C. Tucker. 2011. In vitro detection and quantification of botulinum neurotoxin type E activity in avian blood. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 77:7815-7822. | December 2011 |