Saturday, November 12, 2011

Vampire Bacteria

Bacteria "vampire" is a type of bacteria that consumed other bacteria, this behavior is found in 30 years installation of waste disposal. Micavibrio aeruginosavorus, thus the original name of the bacteria, called a vampire because it has the ability to live by sucking nutrients from other bacteria.


A recent study by scientists from the University of Virginia with modern genetic techniques successfully isolate and sequence the genome ofthe bacterium vampire, open several possibilities for utilizing bacteria.

Genetic analysis reveals that Micavibrio aeruginosavorus unable to live even though there are abundant nutrients in the vicinity. Because these bacteria do not have a gene that controls the transport of nutrients from inside to outside the cell. Nutrition should be obtained directly from other bacteria.

Researchers found that bacteria have genes that help vampire bacteria produce compounds to attach themselves to other bacteria. Genes that control the transport processes of nutrients from prey bacteria into the cells Micavibrio aeruginosavorus.

When bacteria attach to their prey vampire, the gene is activated, establish a kind of bridge between two cells. When the bridge is built of nutrients from the bacteria that prey will flow into the bacterial cell vampire.

Micavibrio aeruginosavorus said as prey on many types of bacteria. Thus, bacteria that can be used to kill other bacteria are harmful and cause disease, for example, be used as a living antibiotic.

"The pathologist can use these bacteria to fight fire with fire. These bacteria will hunt down and attack specific bacteria that are harmful to humans," Matin said Wu, a researcher, as quoted by Live Science, Tuesday (11/01/2011), then." Maybe for antibiotics such as Micavibrio aeruginosavorus living, because attacking specific targets of certain pathogens, can reduce our dependence on traditional antibiotics and reduce drug resistance problem that we face today," added Wu.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home