Microbe Forensics

Organisms incorporate stable isotopes from their growth environment into their biological molecules, thus stable isotope ratios can provide a link between an organism and its environmental origin. Since the anthrax attacks of 2001, the need to identify the source of a culture of microorganisms has become urgent. We are applying stable isotope analysis to microorganisms to determine basic relationships between isotopes in the culture nutrients, culture water, and the resulting cells or spores. As an ancillary component of this project, we are also surveying the stable isotope ratios of commercially available bacteriological culture media.