Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Together with Marieke I had the chance to learn some molecular techniques. She is working on Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterium causing hepatopancreatic necrosis syndrome (AHPNS) in shrimp and tries to examine the possible effects of transferrin as an antimicrobial compound. In order to determine a possible effect, we conducted a SDS-PAGE and a western blot. This way we could figure out if the addition of transferrin resulted in the degradation of the toxins produced by V. parahaemolyticus.
She is also trying to develop a quick detection test to detect the pathogen in an early stage. One of the steps in this process is to inject the toxins in rabbits and check if they form antibodies after certain periods. We visualized this by performing an ELISA test. The ELISA we performed was done to determine the antibody response. This way we could check if there are antibodies produced in the serum, how many and if an extra booster injection was needed.
