Yale scientists have tricked the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria to incorporate foreign molecules into its cell wall. This was achieved by adding a peptide sequence to one end of the molecule that the bacteria recognized; the bacteria accepted the molecule into its cell wall, thinking it was one of its own proteins. This could be used on any gram-positive bacteria, such as the bacterium that cause strep throat and pneumonia.
This marks the first time scientists have engineered the cell wall of a bacteria; they focused on the cell wall because it determines how a bacteria reacts with its environment. The molecules used in the experiment were azide, fluorescein, and biotin, but according to one of the scientists, other molecules could be used in the same way.
These findings are significant because the scientist did not have to genetically alter or engineer the bacteria itself, just the molecules they wanted the bacteria’s cell wall to accept. Something else of great value is the fact that is disturbs the way the bacteria interacts with its surroundings, which means it could affect the way bacteria interacts with human cells. This new finding could be used on a whole host of bacteria to fight the spread of sickness in hospitals and clinics. It could also be used to track the progression of disease in the body and also to boost the immune system against attack from diseases that typically go unnoticed by the body's immune system.
The electronic article, "Scientists trick bacteria with small molecules", was found on www.biologynews.net and was published on October 7, 2010. The original article was written in ACS Chemical Biology.
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