In Situ Hybridization of Burkholderia cepacia Cells

Burkholderia cepacia has attracted the attention of scientists from diverse fields owing to its unique characteristics and ubiquitous nature. This organism is an opportunistic human pathogen (1 ), one of the relatively few bacteria containing more than one chromosome (2 ), and able to utilize more compounds as a sole source of carbon and energy than any other known bacterium (3 ). Initially described as a plant pathogen (4 ), B. cepacia has been found in environments ranging from hospitals (5 ) to water supply systems (6 ), and is a common component of the bacterial assemblage in a wide range of natural habitats including freshwater (7 –9 ), freshwater sediments (C. J. McNamara, personal communication ), soil (10 ), and leaves (C. J. McNamara, personal communication ).