Pseudomonas aeruginosa can move on its own

Many drug-resistant infections are the result of bacterial biofilms that protect bacteria from antibiotics, chemicals, antibodies, and immune cells.

Biofilm is an organized structure consisting of a collection of living bacteria that attach to the surface, where the bacteria share genetic information and exchange each other's substances with and against enemies and chemistry. dangerous substances. Biofilms that affect human health in many ways, such as cystic fibrosis, are a disease in which patients die of bacterial respiratory infections that produce biofilms thought to be inviolable. It is even when giving the patients the most powerful antibiotic doses.

Currently, researchers at UCLA and colleagues have discovered that bacteria can stand up and walk as part of the adaptation to the surface of biofilms in the early stages of formation. into biofilm .

" Bacteria exist in two physiological states: the state is a single-celled unicellular organism and another state is bound together on a surface and forms a biofilm, which is an organized structure. The society consists of a dense collection of living bacteria on a surface , "said Gerard Wong, biotechnology professor working at the UCLA Henry Samueli and Applied Science and the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. .

" Bacteria in biofilms differ in phenotype from bacteria that swim freely even though they have a homogeneous genotype. That's the result of the adaptation of a community of bacteria on a surface, the bacteria have different genotypes and different recessive genes in biofilms, leading to behavioral differences, "he said.

During the study, Wong and his team describe new surface adaptations as " walking " motor mechanisms, observed in the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa , a pathogen by formation. Biofilm creates a deadly bacterial infection in cystic fibrosis patients.

IV pili (the name given by the scientists) acts as legs (helping bacteria to stand up and walk) to help Pseudomonas aeruginosa move and search more effectively on the surface, this is also is the first step for bacteria to separate from the surface allowing them to spread and spread effectively.

The team was able to develop a variety of search engines and computer programs that use element tracking algorithms, to analyze the amount of film that can be shot by microscopy about the time that bacteria move on surfaces.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Photo: jiangnan.edu.cn)

" Previously, fellows had to manipulate the cells by hand and then closely watched them from frame to frame ," Wong said. " The calculation method allows us to increase the analytical data volume to 100,000 times and perform the necessary analysis in a few hours instead of a few months ."

" Furthermore, we understand the significance of this huge amount of information using search engines. This is a big step in using microscopes ."

The study was conducted in collaboration with the Notre Dame University team led by Joshua Shrout, associate professor at The department of civil engineering and geological sciences , at The Eck Institute for Global Health .

" P.aeruginosa is the leading infectious agent causing death in patients with cystic fibrosis ," Shrout said. "In addition to lung infections, bacteria P. aeruginosa also infect the skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract. When we understand how P.aeruginosa can stand up and walk as part of the Adapting to the surface of biofilms in the early stages of biofilm formation, perhaps we can develop better methods for treating infections. "

' One of the most interesting elements of this job for me is the wide applicability, ' says Conrad. Research on the formation of biofilms is applied not only in the medical field but also widely applied to industries. Bioaccumulative deposits build up biofilms that affect the hydraulic traction of ships, leading to the waste of fuel, increasing the cost of water treatment, oil recovery and processing. food. Controlling the formation of biofilms will help us reduce biological pollution in many industries.

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Ho Duy Binh
Address: Library Information Center - Tien Giang University - No. 119, Bac Hamlet, Ward 5, TP. My Tho, Tien Giang province.
Email: hoduybinhdhtg@cooltoad.com