These microorganisms, collectively known as the gut microbiome, serve many purposes. CC BY 2.0)Īs humans, we rely on the community of microbes in our gut to help us thrive. Continue reading → Bacteria from tobacco plant roots provide protection against sudden-wilt diseaseĪ tobacco field in Tennessee (Credit: ajgarrison3 via Flickr. Until recently, that was the prevailing belief in the research community. Given the important role that toxins play in establishing and maintaining an infection, it would be logical to assume that the more toxins a bacteria produces, the more severe the infection.
Memorykeeper virus skin#
Toxins are also responsible for disease symptoms such as the skin lesions commonly seen in patients with a staph infection.
A key component of the bacteria’s survival strategy are the toxins that damage tissues and attack immune cells to interfere with the host’s defense system. In certain individuals, such as those with a weakened immune system, the bacteria can cause a wide spectrum of diseases from minor skin and soft tissue infections to life-threatening pneumonia and bloodstream infections. Most people carry staph bacteria asymptomatically on their skin and in their noses. Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as staph, is one species of bacteria that deploys a large and diverse arsenal of toxins.
These toxins are proteins made and secreted by bacteria that help them establish an infection and cause disease. Specifically, the hidden toxins lurking in the food we eat, the household products we use, the air we breathe and why we need to go on a juice cleanse to detox our bodies, lose weight and feel great!īut right now, let’s ignore those exaggerations and pseudoscience (because that’s a lengthy post in and of itself) and talk about real toxins. We hear a lot about toxins in the news these days. (Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. I think that’s why it’s so exciting.” Continue reading →Ī scanning electron micrograph of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and dead human immune cells. “The adaptability of CRISPR is very, very rapid. Joseph Bondy-Denomy, a faculty fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. “It’s the first example of a single cell, simple having an adaptive immune system,” says Dr. In other words, bacteria with CRISPR-Cas systems are able to “learn” from their previous phage encounters and acquire immunological memory based on those experiences-a trait that was previously thought to be unique to animals. Every time a bacteria survives a phage infection (which doesn’t happen often), the CRISPR-Cas complex takes a small piece of phage DNA and adds it to the bacteria’s own DNA, gradually building a database of unique DNA fingerprints from every phage that has ever tried to kill it. First discovered in 2007, the CRISPR-Cas system functions as the bacteria’s immune system. Perhaps the coolest of these weapons is the CRISPR-Cas system. They have a large arsenal of anti-phage weapons to keep phages out and prevent them from taking over.
Memorykeeper virus torrent#
A torrent of phages is unleashed that go on to infect more bacteria and continue the cycle.īut bacteria are not helpless victims in this story. They enter a bacterial cell and hijack the cellular machinery to make new phages until the cell is literally bursting with viral cargo. Like human and other animal viruses, phages rely completely on their host for reproduction. These viruses are called bacteriophages, or phages for short. They extend to the realm of microscopic organisms and to the world of bacteria and the teeny tiny, itsy bitsy viruses that prey on them. These predator-prey relationships exist beyond the plains of Africa or the jungles of Borneo. When the Anglo-Irish satirist wrote these words nearly two centuries ago, he could not have known just how far down the tree of life his observations would hold true. (Credit: Joe Bondy-Denomy)Īnd these have smaller fleas to bite ‘em. A transmission electron micrograph of phage JBD93, which contains an anti-CRISPR gene.
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