 |
|
Scientists seek to unwrap the sweet mystery of the sugar coat on bacteria
February 15, 2006Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a quick and simple way to investigate the sugar coating that surrounds bacteria and plays a role in infection and immunity.
The sugars coating bacteria can change very quickly during the course of an infection, cloaking the bacteria from the immune system of their host. Previous techniques for studying the sugars were too slow to catch these rapid changes.
"There's a growing recognition of the importance of carbohydrates on bacterial cell surfaces," says Dr. Lara Mahal, lead researcher and assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry with the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology. "The carbohydrate coating is critical in how your immune system recognizes bacteria."
Mahal and graduate student Ken Hsu report their findings in the advance on-line edition and March issue of Nature Chemical Biology.
The scientists studied the sugar coats of four strains of bacteria: two lab strains of E. coli, one pathogenic strain of E. coli that causes neonatal meningitis, and Salmonella typhimurium, which causes food poisoning.
They analyzed each strain of bacteria using lectin microarrays-small glass plates covered with dots of sugar-binding proteins called lectins. The lectin dots act like microbe Velcro. Bacteria with a surface sugar that matches a specific lectin stick to that lectin dot. Because the bacteria are fluorescently labeled, Mahal and her colleagues can read the patterns of glowing dots and determine which sugars coat the bacteria.
The microarray technique worked fast enough that the researchers were able to see the sugar coating change over time in the neonatal meningitis strain of E. coli.
"Over time, the lectins lost their ability to see these bacteria," says Mahal. "This demonstrates that our system is able to see a dynamic change in the carbohydrates on bacteria surface over time."
Mahal says the microarray method could provide an important tool for identifying bacteria and diagnosing infection. It will also provide a way for scientists to start asking questions about the role that surface sugars play in bacterial infection and symbiotic relationships.
University of Texas at Austin
Mahal and graduate student Ken Hsu report their findings in the advance on-line edition and March issue of Nature Chemical Biology.
The scientists studied the sugar coats of four strains of bacteria: two lab strains of E. coli, one pathogenic strain of E. coli that causes neonatal meningitis, and Salmonella typhimurium, which causes food poisoning.
They analyzed each strain of bacteria using lectin microarrays-small glass plates covered with dots of sugar-binding proteins called lectins. The lectin dots act like microbe Velcro. Bacteria with a surface sugar that matches a specific lectin stick to that lectin dot. Because the bacteria are fluorescently labeled, Mahal and her colleagues can read the patterns of glowing dots and determine which sugars coat the bacteria.
The microarray technique worked fast enough that the researchers were able to see the sugar coating change over time in the neonatal meningitis strain of E. coli.
"Over time, the lectins lost their ability to see these bacteria," says Mahal. "This demonstrates that our system is able to see a dynamic change in the carbohydrates on bacteria surface over time."
Mahal says the microarray method could provide an important tool for identifying bacteria and diagnosing infection. It will also provide a way for scientists to start asking questions about the role that surface sugars play in bacterial infection and symbiotic relationships.
University of Texas at Austin
Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News RSSBiologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen
Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell.
Saving the single cysteine: new antioxidant system found
We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines.
Beyond sunlight: Explorers census 17,650 ocean species between edge of darkness and black abyss
Census of Marine Life scientists have inventoried an astonishing abundance, diversity and distribution of deep sea species that have never known sunlight - creatures that somehow manage a living in a frigid black world down to 5,000 meters (~3 miles) below the ocean waves.
Surface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance
On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury.
On the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease: Yale Researchers Target Tick Saliva
A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites.
Cigarettes Harbor Many Bacteria Harmful to Human Health
Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France.
ORNL, Los Alamos pioneer new approach to assist scientists, farmers
Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories.
UAB Researchers Discover Antibody Receptor Identity, Propose Renaming Immune-System Gene
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders.
Scientists find molecular trigger that helps prevent aging and disease
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How do dietary restriction-and the reverse, overconsumption-produce protective effects against aging and disease?
Texas A&M Researchers Examine How Viruses Destroy Bacteria
Viruses are well known for attacking humans and animals, but some viruses instead attack bacteria. Texas A&M University researchers are exploring how hungry viruses, armed with transformer-like weapons, attack bacteria, which may aid in the treatment of bacterial infections.
More Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News Articles
 |
A Field Guide to Bacteria (Comstock Book) by Betsey Dexter Dyer (Author) Pocket-guide to observing bacteria without a laboratory or fancy equipment. Presents all the major taxonomic groups of bacteria in a useable, accessible format for amateur naturalists who may or may not have access to a microscope. Includes ideas for planning field trips to explore bacteria in their natural environments. Illustrated, some color. Softcover, hardcover available. |
 |
Ein-O Science BioSigns Bacteria by Tedco The hands on cell and microbiology models provide magnified and cross section details. The set includes Virus, Bacteria, Plant Cell, White Blood Cell, Red Blood Cell and Animal Cell. Ein-O's I Know Guides and storage box are included. Consider using these models with a display of your own making - featuring the intricacies of cell structure, comparing and contrasting differences, investigating functions & interactions, or describing the efforts of modern medicine... a neat Science Fair Project. Virus - This hands-on interactive model provides magnified and cross-sectioned detailing of a Virus. Animal Cell - This hands-on interactive model provides magnified and cross-sectioned detailing of an Animal Cell. White Blood Cell - This hands-on interactive model provides... |
 |
Bacteria (Discovery Channel School Science) by Lynn Brunelle (Author), Barbara Ravage (Author), Lynn Brunelle (Editor), Barbara Ravage (Editor), Gareth Stevens Publishing (Editor) |
 |
Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World by Jessica Snyder Sachs (Author) Making Peace with Microbes Public sanitation and antibiotic drugs have brought about historic increases in the human life span; they have also unintentionally produced new health crises by disrupting the intimate, age-old balance between humans and the microorganisms that inhabit our bodies and our environment. As a result, antibiotic resistance now ranks among the gravest medical problems of modern times. Good Germs, Bad Germs addresses not only this issue but also what has become known as the “hygiene hypothesis”— an argument that links the over-sanitation of modern life to now-epidemic increases in immune and other disorders. In telling the story of what went terribly wrong in our war on germs, Jessica Snyder Sachs explores our emerging understanding of the symbiotic... |
 |
Molecular Genetics of Bacteria (Snyder, Molecular Genetics of Bacteria) by Larry Snyder (Author), Wendy Champness (Author) This landmark volume provides the single most comprehensive and authoritative textbook on bacterial molecular genetics. Perfect for advanced undergraduate and graduate-level courses, the text presents the latest research on the subject in a clearly written and well-illustrated style. It provides descriptive background information, detailed experimental methods, examples of genetic analyses, and advanced material relevant to current applications of molecular genetics. While providing a deep understanding of bacterial molecular genetics, the material is integrated with biochemical, genomic, and structural information to broaden understanding. The approach centers on the most-studied bacteria, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. In addition, examples from other bacteria with... |
 |
60 Minutes - Superbug (November 11, 2007) Airdate 11/11/07 MRSA is a superbug, a staff infection that has moved out of hospitals and nursing homes and is now infecting healthy people, sometimes killing them. That's because once the MRSA infection gets into the blood stream, it is largely resistant to antibiotics. For now, the best medicine is prevention. What does this mean? Scrubbing down school desks? Hosing down team locker rooms? Sending infected kids home? Lesley Stahl reports. This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply. |
 |
Magic School Bus World of Germs Science Kit by Young Scientist Club The World of Germs- Magic School Bus Science Kit FUN |
 |
Essick Air #1970 Quart Bacteria Treatment by ESSICK AIR PRODUCTS QT, Humidifier Bacteria Treatment, Helps Fight Bacteria & Algae Build Up, Keeps Water Smelling Clean, EPA Registered, For Use In All Evaporative Console & Room Size Humidifiers. |
 |
Disposable EARLOOP Face MASK, Filters Bacteria 3 Ply - (Box of 50) by EVERREADY FIRST AID Tie-on surgical face mask with high bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE), low breathing resistance, soft, odorless, non-irritating, comfortable superior fit, fiberglass free. |
 |
Germ Stories by Arthur Kornberg (Author), Adam Alaniz (Illustrator) "I told my three sons stories about germs more than fifty years ago as fanciful bedtime tales." So begins this charming collection of poems written by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Arthur Kornberg to help us learn about the germs that help and harm us. These rollicking, entertaining, and informative poems have been illustrated with witty and amusing watercolors and the book also contains electron micrographs and a glossary for the child who wants to go deeper into the world of microbiology. |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |