Molecular Identification of the Biowarfare Simulant Serratia Marcescens From a 50-Year-Old Munition Buried at Fort Detrick, Maryland

Abstract

Serratia marcescens are gram-negative bacteria that were often used by the U.S. military and others to track movement of bacteria in the environment. As part of ongoing construction at Fort Detrick, what appeared to be a small bomblet was found buried in the ground at the site of an old test grid. A sample of clear, straw-colored liquid was aseptically removed from the plastic reservoir and routine culture on standard bacteriological media was negative. DNA was extracted from the sample and found to be 99% identical to S. marcescens. These results demonstrate the ability to identify the contents of a biological munition that had been buried for approximately 50 years.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA481073

Entities

People

  • Carson Baldwin
  • Chris A. Whitehouse
  • John Kondig
  • John Scherer
  • Leonard Wasieloski

Organizations

  • United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bacteria
  • Biological Markers
  • Biomedical Research
  • California
  • Construction
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Environment
  • Escherichia Coli
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Maryland
  • Microbiomes
  • Munitions
  • Pseudomonas Infections
  • Reservoirs
  • Standards
  • United States

Readers

  • Agricultural Chemistry/Soil Science
  • Critical Infrastructure Protection in CBRN and WMD Threats.
  • Microbial Pathology