How does an intestinal microbe become a pathogen?
The bacterium Escherichia coli is found in the human intestine, and elsewhere. There it is harmless, but in certain conditions it can become a pathogen. It can cause bladder infections or even sepsis. A team of researchers led by RESIST professor Mar.....»»
Secretion secrets revealed: Pathogen effector characterization for a devastating plant disease
Sometimes the most niche plant pathogens pack the greatest punch. Such is the case for the Florida citrus industry, which has seen a 70% decline in its orange production since the introduction of Huanglongbing (citrus greening) in 2005......»»
Ocean microbes get their diet through a surprising mix of sources, study finds
One of the smallest and mightiest organisms on the planet is a plant-like bacterium known to marine biologists as Prochlorococcus. The green-tinted microbe measures less than a micron across, and its populations suffuse through the upper layers of th.....»»
Single-cell Raman-based tool for efficient mining of live functional microbes from nature
Currently, the best way for scientists to isolate a specific microbe with a particular metabolic function from an environment is to take a sample of cells, culture them, and then screen them for the desired cell functions......»»
Want to save the bees? Pay attention to pathogens and flowers
New research published in the journal Ecology conclusively shows that certain physical traits of flowers affect the health of bumblebees by modulating the transmission of a harmful pathogen called Crithidia bombi. In particular, the research, conduct.....»»
Researchers design soil-inspired multifunctional chemical system
Soil is a dynamic system of microbe-material interactions and environmental responsiveness. The soil-microbe complex is an integrated and adaptable system that can reshape its state according to the external environment......»»
A microbe"s local environment can be the difference between life and death
The microbial world shapes essentially every facet of our lives. Whether they are in the soils where our food is grown, or the lungs of a person with an infection, or at the bottom of the ocean, microbes live in diverse communities made up of multipl.....»»
Novel insecticides are bad news for bee health and their guts
Insecticides containing flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor can have devastating effects on honey bee health. The substances damage the insects' intestinal flora, especially when used in conjunction with a common fungicide, making them more susceptible t.....»»
The role of ethylene response factors in regulating fruit ripening and pathogen response
The changes that occur in fleshy fruits during ripening make them more sensitive than unripe fruit to infection by bacteria and fungi. The challenge for fruit production is to balance fruit ripening and pathogen resistance to maintain postharvest fru.....»»
Insights into pathogen-host interaction offer clue to protecting crops from blast disease
A mechanism used by a fungal pathogen to promote spread of the devastating cereal crop disease, blast, has been revealed in fine detail......»»
Ye olde pathogen: Learning about evolution from ancient DNA
As long as humans have been around, there have been pathogens to make us sick. Some have achieved infamy in human history—the bubonic plague, for example, or smallpox—and with modern technologies, scientists can time-travel to find out what the b.....»»
Scientists reveal protein mechanism behind tuberculosis pathogen success
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), remains a leading infectious threat to public health worldwide. It is estimated to have infected 2–3 billion people and causes ~1.5 million deaths each year......»»
Pockets of resistance found in survey of pathogen diversity
Unparalleled insights into the secret life of Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacterium responsible for hundreds of thousands of infant deaths each year, have been revealed by new research from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oxford, t.....»»
Mutation in key molecules could stop gonorrhea infection
Creating a mutation that inhibits how the bacterial pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes gonorrhea, a common sexually transmitted infection, could offer a new way to prevent and treat the disease, according to researchers in the Institute for Biomed.....»»
The Fungus That Killed Frogs—and Led to a Surge in Malaria
A global fungal pandemic wiped out amphibians, destroyed biodiversity, and ultimately increased human illness. Now a second similar pathogen is on the way......»»
Better understanding needed of below-ground carbon allocation and its efficiency for nutrient acquisition
Plants allocate large amounts of photosynthetic carbon metabolites to roots and soil and thereby rely on the root-soil-microbe interactions to acquire soil nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) for aboveground growth......»»
Drought increases microbe-laden dust landing in Sierras
Dust from all over the world is landing in the Sierra Nevada mountains carrying microbes that are toxic to both plants and humans......»»
Newly identified compound binds to Shiga toxin to reduce its toxicity
A strain of E. coli bacteria called enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) is known to cause several gastrointestinal disorders, which include bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps, by damaging the intestinal lining. When accompanied with fatal systemic com.....»»
Microfluidic Chip Models Inflammatory Intestinal Disease
Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have modeled Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (EED), a childhood inflammatory intestinal disease, on a microfluidic chip and gained new insights into the genetic changes underlying the condition. This is.....»»
Chemokine receptor CX3CR1 structures uncover mechanism of cholesterol regulation in activation
Chemokine receptors regulate the migration of immune cells and are involved in inflammation, tumor construction and pathogen infection. Chemokines are divided into four subfamilies according to the number and distribution of conserved cysteines at th.....»»
Familiarity breeds exempt: Why staph vaccines don"t work in humans
For the most part, the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is common and harmless, posing no threat to humans with whom they coexist. Occasionally, though, it can become an opportunistic pathogen, causing skin and bloodstream infections or food poisoning.....»»