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Salmonella's sweet tooth predicts its downfall
May 20, 2009For the first time UK scientists have shown what the food poisoning bug Salmonella feeds on to survive as it causes infection: glucose.
Their discovery of Salmonella's weakness for sugar could provide a new way to vaccinate against it. The discovery could also lead to vaccine strains to protect against other disease-causing bacteria, including superbugs.
"This is the first time that anyone has identified the nutrients that sustain Salmonella while it is infecting a host's body," says Dr Arthur Thompson from the Institute of Food Research.
The nutrition of bacteria during infection is an emerging science. This is one of the first major breakthroughs, achieved in collaboration with Dr. Gary Rowley at the University of East Anglia.
Salmonella food poisoning causes infection in around 20 million people worldwide each year and is responsible for about 200,000 human deaths. It also infects farm animals and attaches to salad vegetables.
During infection, Salmonella bacteria are engulfed by immune cells designed to kill them. But instead the bacteria multiply.
Salmonella must acquire nutrients to replicate. The scientists focused on glycolysis, the process by which sugars are broken down to create chemical energy. They constructed Salmonella mutants unable to transport glucose into the immune cells they occupy and unable to use glucose as food. These mutant strains lost their ability to replicate within immune cells, rendering them harmless
"Our experiments showed that glucose is the major sugar used by Salmonella during infection," said Dr Thompson.
The mutant strains still stimulate the immune system, and the scientists have filed patents on them which could be used to develop vaccines to protect people and animals against poisoning by fully virulent Salmonella.
Glycolysis occurs in most organisms including other bacteria that occupy host cells. Disrupting how the bacteria metabolise glucose could therefore be used to create vaccine strains for other pathogenic bacteria, including superbugs.
The harmless strains could also be used as vaccine vectors. For example, the flu gene could be expressed within the harmless Salmonella strain and safely delivered to the immune system.
The next stage of the research will be to test whether the mutants elicit a protective immune response in mice.
In Germany the nutrition of bacteria is the subject of a six-year priority programme of research to investigate why bacteria are able to multiply inside a host's body to cause disease.
Norwich BioScience Institutes
The nutrition of bacteria during infection is an emerging science. This is one of the first major breakthroughs, achieved in collaboration with Dr. Gary Rowley at the University of East Anglia.
Salmonella food poisoning causes infection in around 20 million people worldwide each year and is responsible for about 200,000 human deaths. It also infects farm animals and attaches to salad vegetables.
During infection, Salmonella bacteria are engulfed by immune cells designed to kill them. But instead the bacteria multiply.
Salmonella must acquire nutrients to replicate. The scientists focused on glycolysis, the process by which sugars are broken down to create chemical energy. They constructed Salmonella mutants unable to transport glucose into the immune cells they occupy and unable to use glucose as food. These mutant strains lost their ability to replicate within immune cells, rendering them harmless
"Our experiments showed that glucose is the major sugar used by Salmonella during infection," said Dr Thompson.
The mutant strains still stimulate the immune system, and the scientists have filed patents on them which could be used to develop vaccines to protect people and animals against poisoning by fully virulent Salmonella.
Glycolysis occurs in most organisms including other bacteria that occupy host cells. Disrupting how the bacteria metabolise glucose could therefore be used to create vaccine strains for other pathogenic bacteria, including superbugs.
The harmless strains could also be used as vaccine vectors. For example, the flu gene could be expressed within the harmless Salmonella strain and safely delivered to the immune system.
The next stage of the research will be to test whether the mutants elicit a protective immune response in mice.
In Germany the nutrition of bacteria is the subject of a six-year priority programme of research to investigate why bacteria are able to multiply inside a host's body to cause disease.
Norwich BioScience Institutes
Salmonella Current Events and Salmonella News RSSExploring the final frontier: Disease proposed as major barrier to Mars and beyond
New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that prolific virulence and growth of bacteria, coupled with reduced production of antibodies could limit future space travel.
Propolis has proved to be a product with ability to have beneficial effects for health
Growing concerns about health has caused the scientific community to focus their interest on investigating functional foods which contribute to boosting the prevention and reduction of the risk of suffering from certain illnesses.
TraDIS technique tackles typhoid
For the first time, researchers are able to look at the need for every gene in a bacterial cell in a single experiment. The new method will transform the study of gene activity and the search for weaknesses in bacterial armouries.
Light, photosynthesis help bacteria invade fresh produce
Exposure to light and possibly photosynthesis itself could be helping disease-causing bacteria to be internalized by lettuce leaves, making them impervious to washing, according to research published in the October issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
How Good Are Indicator Bacteria at Predicting Pathogens in Recreational Water?
Bacteria commonly used to indicate health risks in recreational waters might not be so reliable after all. Pathogenic E. coli were pervasive in stream-water samples with low concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria.
New biosensor can detect bacteria instantaneously
A research group from the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona has developed a biosensor that can immediately detect very low levels of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever.
Casting out devils
In the scientific journal PLoS ONE, Sara Bartels and Siegfried Weiss of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany now show how the bacteria migrate into tumours.
Eating less red meat can prevent cancer, heart attacks and global warming
Raising livestock also accounts for around 18% of greenhouse gases. It is therefore possible to act against climate change and reduce cardiovascular and cancer deaths, by cutting the production and consumption of 'red meat' from these animals.
Typhoid fever cases in US linked to foreign travel
Infection with an antimicrobial-resistant strain of typhoid fever among patients in the United States is associated with international travel, especially to the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh).
'Killer spices' provide eco-friendly pesticides for organic fruits and veggies
Mention rosemary, thyme, clove, and mint and most people think of a delicious meal. Think bigger-acres bigger.
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