2. Why is the study of bacteria important? Flashcards
Why are bacteria important
Abundance, distribution, and activities
Present on every conceivable niche
Present on organic C, N, O, S, P
Important for planetary cycles
Used in biotech and food
Important in health and disease
Bacteria in biotechnology
Recombinant proteins Biological drugs NAtural product drugs Fine chemicals Industrial enzymes Synthetic biology
What do recombinant proteins form?
Recombinant insulin
What do biological drugs form?
Antibodies, humanised monoclonal antibodies
What do natural product drugs produce?
Anticancer drugs
What do fine chemicals produce?
Vitamins, amino acids
What do industrial enzymes produce?
Proteases, amylases, pectinases
Establishing the gut microbiome
Milk oligosaccharides modulate gut microbiome.
Provide decoy binding site preventing virus infection.
Prebiotic for beneficial bacteria
Bifidobaterium infantis (gut microbiome)
Ferments milk sugars that baby cannot digest. Lowers gut pH and enhances epithelial barrier
Microbiome and disease
Association between red meat consumption and colon cancer
Fasobacterium nucleatum
Association with tumors, fibre fermenting bacteria
Gut microbiome and treatment
Melanoma - skin cancer
Treated with antibodies targeting tumor interaction
Injection
Diversity of microbiome associated with response
Example of Psychrophile (4°c)
Polaromonas vacuolata.
Example of Mesophile (39°c)
Escherichia coli.
Example of Thermophile (60°c)
Geobaccillus stearothermophilus
Example of Hyperthermophile (88°c)
Thermococcus celer
Example of Hyperthermophile (106°c)
Pyrolobus fumarii.
Archaea have…
Cytoplasm
Nucleoid
Cell Wall
Cytoplasmic membrane
Bacteria have…
Cytoplasm
Nucleoid
Cell Wall
Cytoplasmic membrane
Prokaryotes have…
Cytoplasm Nucleoid Cell Wall Cytoplasmic membrane Plasmid Ribosomes
The human microbiome plays an important part in the control of vital homeostatic mechanisms in the body:
- Protection against pathogens.
- Synthesis of vitamins.
- Immune system development.
- Promotion of intestinal angiogenesis.
- Promotion of fat storage.
- SCFA production by fermentation of dietary fiber.
- Modulation of central nervous system.
Autophagy and cancer
ATG5 is a protein involved in autophagy.
A virus can be produced in the lab which will target ATG5 mRNA and prevent translation into a protein.
This prevents the cell from undergoing autophagy.
The virus is engineered to contain short-hairpin RNA, complementary to ATG5 mRNA.
The virus cannot replicate itself or cause a second infection.
Lentiviral production
DNA on 3 plasmids grown in bacteria, genome plasmid has shRNA targeting ATG5, virus used to infect melanoma and prevent autophagy.
Melanoma signalling
Melanoma cells can get into lymphatic vesicles.
They can metastasis (spread) via lymph nodes.
Cells can release a signalling molecule which can respond to receptor 1 or 2 on the lymphatic cell.
CRISPR is a bacterial defence mechanism against viruses.
Use a modified CRISPR system to knock-out one of the receptors.
Will tell us which receptor is important (R1 or R2)
