Vibrio natriegens has been investigated as an alternative to Escherichia coli in molecular and synthetic biology for over a decade, largely due to its exceptionally fast doubling time. As V. natriegens becomes more widely used in laboratories, cross-contamination with E. coli and other bacterial cultures is an increasing concern, potentially compromising weeks of research and the integrity of laboratory cell stocks.
In a study led by Lara Möller, iBB member and student at HSB Hochschule Breme, a molecular toolbox was developed and tested to quickly and reliably distinguish V. natriegens Vmax from common K-12-derived E. coli strains, using minimal equipment.
The toolbox included a commercial phenotypic oxidase test, agar culture observations, and a dual-marker PCR targeting the ccoN gene in Vibrio and the lacZ gene in E. coli. It was validated against E. coli DH5α, V. natriegens Vmax, and an unknown contaminant, successfully differentiating among them and providing a practical method for monitoring cross-contamination.
Link to paper:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2025.107273
This work was supported by iBB members José A. L. Santos and supervised by Ana Rita Santos and Miguel Prazeres. It has been published in the Journal of Microbiological Methods. The study received funding from the European Commission through the project DIG4BIO – Digitalization of Biomanufacturing of Plasmids for the Development of Advanced Therapy Modalities (HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ACCESS-02-0-101159993).