Proteus Vulgaris

Proteus Vulgaris is a Gram negative bacilli shaped bacterium with an extracytoplasmic outer membrane that is believed to cause serious infections in humans. It is a part of the Enterobacteriaceae family as well as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter cloacae, and Serratia marcescens. The Proteus species in general is usually found in the intestinal flora of the intestinal tract, but also in nursing homes, assisted living residences, hospitals, soil, water and plants as well. In hospitals and long care facilities, Proteus finds its way into the patients and employees by the skin and oral mucosa. Proteus mirabilis is the culprit of 90% of all Proteus infections and can be classified as a community acquired infection.

“Infection depends on the interaction between the infecting organism and the host defense mechanisms. Various components of the membrane interplay with the host to determine virulence.” Another important factor in infection is the positive correlation of its size. Actually being infected with a bacterium is a process. The first step of that process it the virus/ bacteria infecting the host cell/ tissue. Once the tissue has been infected, the bacterium has to adhere to it using pili and chemical receptors. Once the bacterium is completely adhered, chemical messengers are sent out as a response, usually causing an infection. Certain chemicals in the body will react with bacteria to form different infections. For example, urease production coupled with bacteria can cause UTI’s (urinary tract infections). Proteus vulgaris is associated with about 35% of all urinary tract infections. “The ability of Proteus organisms to produce urease and to alkalinize the urine by hydrolyzing urea to ammonia makes it effective in producing an environment in which it can survive.”

Proteus vulgaris also has distinct characteristics that set it apart from other Gram negative bacteria. One feature is that they are very motile and literally “swarm” across the plate. This causes a thin film to form on top of the bacteria and a slight color change occurs. There are periods of rest in this “swarm” where they have to slow down and grow and divide. Since they only slow down, and not completely stop, this period of rest is called “swimming”. The other feature that they possess is the ability to turn urea into ammonia using urease. When this reaction occurs, and urease is utilized, the color of the medium changes from red to yellow.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/226434-overview#showall

http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/microbes/proteus.htm

http://www.sunysccc.edu/academic/mst/microbes/17pvulg.htm

Is Your Meat Contaminated?

Drug resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus have been found in the meat and poultry of U.S. grocery stores at incredibly high rates. S. aureus is a bacteria known for causing a wide variety of human diseases. Although proper cooking of contaminated meats usually kills the bacteria, there are big issues with cross-contamination.

47% of all meat and poultry sampled were contaminated with S. aureus, and 52% were resistant to three or more antibiotics. Researchers analyzed over 80 brands of meat in 26 grocery stores.

"For the first time, we know how much of our meat and poultry is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant Staph, and is is substantial," said Lance B. Price, Ph.D., senior author of the study and Director of TGen's Center for Food Microbiology and Environmental Health.

On densely-stocked industrial farms, animals are steadily fed low doses of antibiotics make for ideal breeding ground for the bacteria to grow. Even though the U.S. government routinely checks for contamination of our foods, S. aureus is not one of the bacteria they inspect for. S. aureus can cause minor skin infections to life-threatening disease.

"Antibiotics are the most important drugs that we have to treat Staph infections; but when Staph are resistant to three, four, five, or even nine different antibiotics--like we saw in this study--that leaves physicians few options," Dr. Price said.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110415083153.htm

Helicobacter pylori: The Cause of Peptic Ulcers

Approximately one-sixth of the world's population suffers from stomach (peptic) ulcers caused by the hard to treat microbe, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). A peptic ulcer is a sore on the lining of the stomach or the duodenum. A common misconception of ulcers are that they come from stress or eating spicy foods, but it is H. pylori that cause these painful sores. The bacterium causes peptic ulcers by damaging the mucous coating that protects the stomach and duodenum. When the mucous coating is damaged it then allows stomach acid to get to the sensitive lining beneath. H. pylori is thought to be obtained through food that has not be washed well or cooked properly or from drinking water that has come from an unclean source. It is also thought that an infected person can spread the bacterium to an uninfected person. Although researchers are still unclear how this works it is thought that it can be passed by an uninfected person coming in contact with the stool or vomit of an infected person. It is also thought that it can be passed through the direct contact of saliva.

If a person is thought to have a peptic ulcer caused by H. pylori a doctor can do three noninvasive tests to test for the bacterium. The first is a blood test that checks for H. pylori antibodies. The second is a urea breath test. The patient swallows a capsule, liquid, or pudding that contains urea labeled with a specific carbon atom. After a few minutes the patient breathes into a container, exhaling carbon dioxide. If the carbon atom is found in the breath then H. pylori is present. This is because the bacterium contains a large amount of urease. The third test is a stool antigen test which tests for H. pylori antigens in the patient's stool.

To kill the H. pylori researchers have found that they need to block a key chemical pathway that the bacteria needs for survival. Flabodoxin, a key protein that H. pylori needs for survival, happens to be what needs to be blocked. However, the problem is that H. pylori eaisly becomes resistant to certain antibiotics. Sancho and his team screened 10,000 chemicals for their ability to block flavodoxin and only identified four that showed promise. Three of the four substances killed the bacterium and did not have any apparent toxic effects in lab animals. It is now believed that in order to get rid of H. pylori the antibiotic clarithromycin, a PPI, and the antibiotics amoxicillin or metronidazole for 10 to 14 days will do the trick.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hpylori/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930112142.htm

http://lancastria.net/blog/bacteria-that-may-treat-ulcers.html

Electric Microbes For Alternative Energy Use

When we think about microbes, we think of tiny organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Microbes can vary from being deadly to life saving. Microbes are diverse and unique, and we continue to learn more about them everyday. Electric microbes are organisms being looked into as an alternative energy source. These interesting tiny microbes are known as Geobacter. Alternative energy researchers are excited by this discovery. The conductive ability of these tiny particles were discovered by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, and named by Time Magazine as one of the best 50 inventions of 2009.

What are Electric Microbes?

Electric Microbes are colonies of bacteria, that individually communicate and transport energy between one another by sending electrical impulses through cilia, which are tiny hairs growing on the surface of bacteria. The survival of the colony is supported by the electrical connection between the microbes. Just like electrical appliances these microbes function as long as their is an electrical connection traveling through the nanowires. The microbes can share energy simply through touch. In their natural sediment environment the cilia of Geobacter helps it to produce electric current from mud and waste water.

How Electric Microbes are Contributing to Alternative Energy Research?

When colonies of electric microbes exists in envirionments that do not have enough oxygen, they digest food differently. Rather than breaking down sugars to form carbon dioxide and water, the microbes produce carbon dioxide, protons, and electrons. The electrons move through the colony, producing electric current. The current produced is not as strong as the current that runs through household wiring but is significant enough to allow the microbes to survive. Alternative energy researchers are focusing on the capability of electric microbes to alter organic material into electricity. Researchers are creating fuel cells that mock the conversion process these microbes use. But the electricity that is produced by the microbes are transported into an alternative power source rather than for the essential life functions of Geobacter. Microbial fuel cells are unique and versatile, compared to other types of fuel cells. Conventional fuel cells only function using one type of fuel, hydrogen, compared to fuel cells generated using electric microbes, they have the ability to use a wider variety of fuel sources, as long as they are organic and water-based.

Use of Electric Mcirobes Happening Now

These electric microbes are getting more and more attention as new fuel cell ideas are tested. The United Nations plans to test microbial fuel cells in space. As a result of this research, a new power source on the space station would be created by transforming human waste into electrical power. Microbial fuel cells are already being used to amplify some other compelling undertakings, ranging from a self feeding robot to basic fuel cells to help provide lighting in developing countries. These microbes are attractive possibilities for energy sources because they're cheap and easy to maintain. As technology and the understanding of electric microbes advance, more interesting ideas will be developed.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19804-life-electric-microbes-wire-up-to-share-energy.htm

http://electricmicrobe.com/2010/11/27/how-do-electric-microbes-work/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729210821.htm

Food Microbiology

By: Abby VanFossen

Food microbiology is the study of the microorganisms that inhabit, create, or contaminate food. Of major importance is the study of microorganisms causing food spoilage.1 "Good" bacteria, such as probiotics, are becoming increasingly important in food science.2 Also, microorganisms are essential for the production of foods such as cheese, yogurt, other fermented foods, bread, beer and wine.

Food safety is a major focus of food microbiology. Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and toxins produced by microorganisms are all possible contaminants of food. However, microorganisms and their products can also be used to combat these pathogenic microbes. Probiotic bacteria can kill and inhibit pathogens. Also, bacteriophages, viruses that only infect bacteria, can be used to kill bacterial pathogens. Thorough preparation of food, including proper cooking, eliminates most bacteria and viruses. However, toxins produced by contaminants may be heat resistant, and some are not eliminated by cooking.

Probiotics are living organisms that, when consumed, have beneficial health benefits outside their nutritional effects. There is a growing body of evidence for the role of probiotics in gastrointestinal infections, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.3

Lactobacillus species are used for the production of yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, pickles, beer, wine, cider, kimchi, chocolate and other fermented foods, as well as animal feeds such as silage. In recent years, much interest has been shown in the use of lactobacilli as probiotic organisms and their potential for disease prevention in humans and animals.4

1 Fratamico PM and Bayles DO (editor). (2005). Foodborne Pathogens: Microbiology and Molecular Biology. Caister Academic Press.

2 Tannock GW (editor). (2005). Probiotics and Prebiotics: Scientific Aspects. Caister Academic Press.

3 Ljungh A, Wadstrom T (editors) (2009). Lactobacillus Molecular Biology: From Genomics to Probiotics. Caister Academic Press.

4 Mayo, B; van Sinderen, D (editor) (2010). Bifidobacteria: Genomics and Molecular Aspects. Caister Academic Press.

Genetic Rearrangement in Mice

A study was done in mice to find hotspots of genetic recombination, which is places in the DNA that break and reorganize to create new genes. The ultimate goal of the study was to find out how the recombination of genes affected the rest of the genome of an organism. Their findings are significant in that this may help to show how detecting certain genes can be linked to some diseases or it can also help in detecting abnormalities within the genes.

The scientists used mice in the experiment and created one of the first maps of these genes for a multi-cellular organism. In order to create this map, researchers combined small pieces of DNA they took from the mice that were going through the process of recombination at that time. The map showed that the rearrangement of the chromosomes in the gene has the potential to make each cell identical, which would pose a problem. Using this map, the researchers hope to be able to determine how these abnormalities occur.

The map provided the researchers with green colors, symbolizing the chromosomes, and red colors, symbolizing areas where the chromosomes were most likely going to break apart. These colors displayed to the researchers where variations and abnormalities could occur within the DNA. Even though this study was done in mice, it will be beneficial for humans when determining where certain mutations and abnormalities come from within a gene.

References:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110405175014.htm

http://images.sciencedaily.com/2011/04/110405175014-large.jpg

Cryptococcus: A fungus that loves the sugar in your brain

Cryptococcus is a genus of fungus and it grows in a culture in the form of a yeast. Usually a fungus only has about two genes but Cryptococcus has about twelve. This large number of genes allows this fungus to borrow inositol from a persons' brain by encoding for sugar transport molecules. Inositol is a sugar found in the human brain, as well as in the spinal cord. The yeastlike fungi consume inositol, because it's a sugar and because sugar, especially this one, helps it reproduce and more specifically to reproduce sexually. This fungus sexually reproduces because, "A connection between the high concentration of free inositol and fungal infection in the human brain,"which was stated by Chaoyang Xue, Ph.D.This fungus then has a fondness to infect the brain and possibly cause meningitis or other infections. Although before this fungus was interested in the brain, it found inositol on plants in the wild. M.D.,  Ph.D., Joseph Heitman, who is the chairman of the Duke department Molecular Genetics and Microbiology stated that this fungus, "…has the machinery to efficiently move sugar molecules inside of its cells and thrive." Scientists have thought of a way to possibly prevent Cryptococcus infections by putting them on a fungal equivalent of an Atkins diet; known as a low-carb diet. This would deter the sugar loving fungus from multiplying which in return would possibly stop infections.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100405152757.htm

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/206336-This-Is-Your-Brain-on-Cryptococcus-Pathogenic-Fungus-Loves-Your-Brain-Sugar

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:Cryptococcus&sa=X&ei=y22aTZriDeLX0QHh4YTHBg&ved=0CBQQkAE