Community | January 30, 2011 | 13 comments

Bacteria modify their Genes to gain new Abilities

source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110127205845.htm

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DeliaTheArtist
"In a new study, scientists at the University of Maryland and the Institut Pasteur show that bacteria evolve new abilities, such as antibiotic resistance, predominantly by acquiring genes from other bacteria.

The researchers new insights into the evolution of bacteria partly contradict the widely accepted theory that new biological functions in bacteria and other microbes arise primarily through the process of gene duplication within the same organism. Their just released study will be published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics on January 27.

Microbes live and thrive in incredibly diverse and harsh conditions, from boiling or freezing water to the human immune system. This remarkable adaptability results from their ability to quickly modify their repertoire of protein functions by gaining, losing and modifying their genes. Microbes were known to modify genes to expand their repertoire of protein families in two ways: via duplication processes followed by slow functional specialization, in the same way as large multicellular organisms like us, and by acquiring different genes directly from other microbes. The latter process, known as horizontal gene transfer, is notoriously conspicuous in the spread of antibiotic resistance, turning some bacteria into drug-resistant 'superbugs' such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a serious public health concern.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110127205845.htm
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13 comments // Bacteria modify their Genes to gain new Abilities

  • Incredulous
    • 0
      Incredulous  

    • great post...an interesting thing I read is that traditional herbal medicines are proving much more effective against these types of invasive bacteria, and ironically, it is plant life that we have labeled invasive that seems to be the most effective against invasive bacterial and fungal agents.

    • 1 year ago
  • Ricky84
  • coolplanet
    • +2
      coolplanet  
    • Image

    • http://current.com/technology/92945210_human-bacteria-in-the-production-of-human...

      Human Bacteria In The Production Of Human Cancer
      A Short Report With Photographic Evidence
      © 2011 Alan Cantwell MD

      One of the most remarkable medical findings in the new 21st century is the recognition that 90% of the cells that make up our body are not human cells. On the contrary, most of our cells are the trillions of microbial cells (primarily bacteria) that inhabit our bodies and share our lives. According to microbiologist Brett Finlay: "We really are a superorganism. From the moment we are born until we die, we live in a symbiotic relationship with our microbes."

      The National Institutes of Health has launched a $115-million Human Microbiome Project to identify, analyze and catalog the hundreds of microbial species residing in or on the human body. Modelled after the Human Genome Project, which decoded most of the human genes in the 1990s, the goal of the microbiome project is to determine which microbes are harmful and to figure out ways to prevent or treat diseases they cause.

      continued @ http://www.rense.com/general92/cantw.htm

    • 1 year ago
  • Jeremy_Benson
    • 0
      Jeremy_Benson  

    • Wait, I thought we already knew this? Isn't this very process how some of the more virulent strains of flu and ebola came about and were we not already aware of this? Or was it that we only knew that viruses could do this and the bacteria thing is actually a new discovery? Or am I just on the moon over here?

    • 1 year ago
  • kennymotown
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • kennymotown
  • Varex_Sythe
  • kennymotown
  • Jeremy_Benson
    • +1
      Jeremy_Benson  
    • kennymotown:

      Creationists have already come up with the argument that cases like these only demonstrate changes within a species and not across species, and therefor doesn't support evolution. It's a stupid argument, but they don't care. Humans sure are stubborn.

    • 1 year ago
  • Jeremy_Benson
    • +1
      Jeremy_Benson  
    • kennymotown:

      Short lives mean quick birthrates, which means generations come and go faster, which means the effects of evolution are quickened. It also means the population is able to multiply quickly and therefor have more individuals contributing to the gene pool. That's why fruitflies are the classic species for basic genetic experimentation: their lives are so quick you can watch and control their evolution within a matter of days or weeks.

    • 1 year ago
  • kennymotown
  • kennymotown
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