Choppers and cheese may soon become official Wisconsin symbols. Bills to honor Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Lactococcus lactis — a bacterium used in the making of cheese — with the state symbol designation were introduced in the Legislature last week. Bill author Rep. Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie) said naming Lactococcus lactis the official state microbe would honor not only Wisconsinâ??s cheese-making history but also increase publicity about how important microbes and the stateâ??s biotech industry is. Bacteriologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been urging support for the microbe via their Web site.
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