Rod Northcutt
Chicago, Illinois
Chromobacterium violaceum
Ink drawing on paper of colonies of c. violaceum in vitro (petri dish), 6 x 9 inches
C. violaceum is a species of bacteria that are gram-negative small rods (coccobacilli) and are cyanogenic (they produce cyanide). Cyanide is used on an industrial scale to complex and recover gold from ore. Researchers are now working to enlist C. violaceum to produce small quantities of cyanide at the ore surface thus achieving complexation biologically in the recovery process. C. violaceum is additionally considered pathogenic and can cause pyogenic (abscess forming) and septicemic (blood poisoning) infections in mammals, including humans.
|