Detecting new toxins of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract

Scientists have discovered a new toxin called ' colibactine ' produced by Escherichia coli (E. coli), which breaks the DNA chain and disrupts the cycle of antibacterial cells in the tube. digestion.

E. coli under an electron microscope.
(Photo: ND)

If left untreated, the fractures can create a high mutation rate, the main cause of cancer in humans.

E. coli is a kind of parasitic, peaceful living bacteria in our digestive tract. However, some bacterial origin is harmful and often carries a high risk of infection in both animals and humans (cholera, urinary tract infection, food poisoning, sepsis, membranes newborn brain .). E. coli is a sample bacterium for the study of coexistence between parasitic bacteria and harmful bacteria.

The research results of the French National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) in collaboration with the Paris Pasteur Institute and the universities of Würzburg and Göttingen (Germany) show that, in a haploid genome, bacterial origin appears one ' haploid gene cluster ', including all genes that allow the synthesis of a new toxin called' colibactine '.

This poison affects cells in the host (human or animal), causing the cells to stop proliferating and getting bigger, causing serious damage to the host cell's DNA, disrupting the cycle. of poisoned cells.

Colibactine belongs to a new family of bacterial toxins that can affect the cycle of antibacterial cells. INRA scientists suggest calling this poison ' cyclomoduline '.

The genes belonging to single-haploid gene clusters for many enzymes belong to the PKS and NRPS families.

This is the first time an enzyme system produces a molecule that acts on antibacterial cells discovered in E. coli, a bacterium that has been controlled by gene science.

This finding will be a ' biotechnology key ' that helps create new beneficial molecules that can be patented. It will pave the way for new treatments as well as preventive measures.

PHUONG THAO