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Bacteria change 'fingerprints' and baffle detectives
April 02, 2002Tracing the source of a campylobacter food poisoning outbreak can be very difficult even with modern DNA fingerprinting methods. There is now evidence that campylobacters can rearrange their DNA, disguising their fingerprint, and confusing such detective work, scientists heard today (Tuesday 09 April 2002) at the spring meeting of the Society for General Microbiology at the University of Warwick.
Professor Diane Newell and her colleague Dr Anne Ridley of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency say, "We can only track campylobacter strains, for example from food to human infection, using a DNA fingerprinting method if the strain type stays stable over time and geographical distance. DNA changes can have an observable effect on the type that is identified. We call this genotypic instability."
Genotypic instability may have a big advantage for the campylobacter. DNA rearrangements may be involved in helping the bacteria survive in hostile environments and providing strain variants that can colonise chickens and other animals better.
Professor Newell explains, "We've found that chicks are campylobacter-free when they are born but they become infected within 2-3 weeks of life. In order to control infection in poultry flocks, methods are required to track infecting strains all over the farm to the finished poultry product sitting in the fridge at home."
"The most effective way to control campylobacter food poisoning would be to stop chicks becoming infected. Our research has shown that good hygiene is not enough to keep campylobacters out of farms and broiler houses. An alternative approach would be to use `friendly` campylobacters that can infect chicks but not cause disease in humans, which would exclude any harmful campylobacters," says Professor Newell.
Society for General Microbiology
DNA Current Events and DNA News RSSHuman genomics in China
Ten years ago, the Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai (South Center, hereafter) was established in the Zhangjiang HiTech Park of Pudong District in Shanghai. To commemorate this important event, which marks the beginning of the Genomics Era in China, we specially organize a series of mini-reviews for this special issue.
Lost in translation
The enzyme machine that translates a cell's DNA code into the proteins of life is nothing if not an editorial perfectionist.
Converting adult somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells using a single virus
A Boston University School of Medicine-led research team has discovered a more efficient way to create induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, derived from mouse fibroblasts, by using a single virus vector instead of multiple viruses in the reprogramming process.
Protein's essential role in repairing damaged cells revealed
University of Michigan researchers have discovered that a key protein in cells plays a critical role in not one, but two processes affecting the development of cancer.
Genetic mutation causes familial susceptibility for degenerative brain disease
Mutation of a gene that helps proteins migrate in and out of the cell's genetic command center - the nucleus - puts some families at higher risk for the degenerative brain disease acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE).
NYU scientists discover dangerous new method for bacterial toxin transfer
Scientists have discovered a new way for bacteria to transfer toxic genes to unrelated bacterial species, a finding that raises the unsettling possibility that bacterial swapping of toxins and other disease-aiding factors may be more common than previously imagined.
Plant polymerases IV and V are special forms of Polymerase II
It's a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.
Evolution in action: Our antibodies take 'evolutionary leaps' to fight microbes
With cold and flu season in full swing, the fact that viruses and bacteria rapidly evolve is apparent with every sneeze, sniffle, and cough. A new report in the January 2009 issue of The FASEB Journal, explains for the first time how humans keep up with microbes by rearranging the genes that make antibodies to foreign invaders. This research fills a significant gap in our understanding of how the immune system helps us survive.
Team finds breast cancer gene linked to disease spread
A team of researchers at Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has identified a long-sought gene that is fatefully switched on in 30 to 40 percent of all breast cancer patients, spreading the disease, resisting traditional chemotherapies and eventually leading to death.
Collagen VI may help protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease
Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND), UCSF, and Stanford have discovered that a certain type of collagen, collagen VI, protects brain cells against amyloid-beta (Aβ) proteins, which are widely thought to cause Alzheimer's disease (AD).
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