https://phys.org/biology-news/microbiology en-us The latest science news on microbiology and cell biology. Previous studies in humans and animals have shown that hosts in a social condition (sharing the same space) harbor a more similar microbiota composition. Microbial transmission between hosts, which is increased when living in the same household, leads to similar species inhabiting the gut. However, whether bacterial evolution in the gut is affected by microbiota transmission has remained unknown. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-power-host-social-interactions-bacterial.html Evolution Cell & Microbiology Wed, 02 Aug 2023 14:55:53 EDT news610206950 When considering a bacterial population as a multicellular community, it is imperative to understand the inherent roles of maintaining homeostasis and viability in response to environmental factors. Cannibalism is a strategy to cope with nutrient deficiency in the environment, which maintains survival of the Bacillus population. Although cannibalism is well-investigated in Bacillus subtilis, the model species of Bacillus, its mechanism remains unknown in other Bacillus species. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-fatty-acids-governed-cannibalism-beneficial-rhizosphere.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 02 Aug 2023 11:07:24 EDT news610193241 A team of scientists from A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) has made an important breakthrough in the fight against RNA viruses that cause human diseases and pandemics. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-gene-editing-technology-ev-a71-rna.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 02 Aug 2023 10:25:38 EDT news610190735 Known as the power plant of the cell, mitochondria are essential to human metabolism. Human mitochondria consist of 1,300 different proteins and two fatty biomembranes. The vast majority of mitochondrial proteins are produced with a cleavable transport signal and have to be actively transported into the mitochondria. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-signal-dependent-formation-mitochondria.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 02 Aug 2023 08:39:56 EDT news610184393 Compared with the purified protein in vitro, intracellular biological macromolecules present a more complete and physiological conformation. Therefore, studying the three-dimensional structure of protein directly in vivo is the next goal of structural biology and also the frontier of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) technology development. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-method-reveals-energy-dependent-milled-lamella.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 01 Aug 2023 15:12:47 EDT news610121565 Biofilms are highly resistant communities of bacteria that pose a major challenge in the treatment of infections. While studying biofilm formation in laboratory conditions has been extensively conducted, understanding their development in the complex environment of the human respiratory tract has remained elusive. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-organoids-revolutionize-respiratory-infections.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 01 Aug 2023 14:00:01 EDT news610098560 Investigating the building blocks of biology can lead to unexpected outcomes. That's what happened when researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory were exploring plant genetics. Although their research was focused on improving plants to use as bioenergy crops, what they found could help develop future treatments for COVID-19. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-biology-covid-treatments.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 01 Aug 2023 13:53:03 EDT news610116781 Ion channels play a crucial role in many cellular processes, including neuronal communication, muscle contraction or cell proliferation. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-gating-mechanism-ion-channels.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 01 Aug 2023 11:19:02 EDT news610107541 Sperm play a critical role in the creation of new life, delivering essentially half of the genetic material required. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-modifications-amino-acids-sperm-infertility.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:53:28 EDT news610041204 New York University researchers have discovered new cell types in the visual system of flies, made possible by their creation of a tool that finds and labels neurons during development. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-flies-sight-scientists-single-cell-sequencing.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 15:00:01 EDT news610015035 For years, we've known that a special kind of molecular assembly known as a "polyelectrolyte complex" helps your cells keep themselves organized. These complexes are very good at forming interfaces to keep two liquids separated: your cells use them to create compartments. These abilities have led scientists to consider them for technological applications, including filtering water, better batteries, and even underwater glue, as well as for better pharmaceutical drugs. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-reveals-long-debated-makeup-molecules-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 15:00:01 EDT news610015098 Future therapies to help people live healthy lives for longer could be developed from drugs that release tiny amounts of the gas hydrogen sulfide (H2S), new research has indicated. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-hydrogen-sulfide-healthy-aging-therapeutic.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 15:00:01 EDT news610015115 The occupation, lifestyle and lack of formal education among pastoralists place them at higher risk of zoonoses. Moreover, zoonoses among pastoralists and their livestock in the Upper Benue Trough in northeastern Nigeria has not been studied holistically. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-zoonotic-parasites-pastoralists-cattle-soil.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:49:02 EDT news610030141 Ecological researchers study the relationships among different organisms and between organisms and their surroundings. It is important to understand how individual features in a community, like microbes or types of chemicals, affect the overall community's development. By examining individual features, researchers can begin to identify those community or assemblage members that drive similarities across communities. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-metric-role-microbes-ecological-communities.html Ecology Cell & Microbiology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:25:23 EDT news610028720 Despite decades of global population growth, a global food crisis seems to be imminent again. Food productivity has been cut severely due to prolonged abnormal weather from intensifying climate change. In addition, the global food supply chain has deteriorated due to international conflicts such as wars, exacerbating food shortages, and nutritional inequality around the globe. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-metabolic-microbial-cell-factories-source.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:51:31 EDT news610015888 A team of microbiologists and bioengineers at the University of Pennsylvania has tested the possibility of bringing back extinct molecules to fight modern bacteria. In their study, reported in Cell Host & Microbe, Jacqueline Maasch, Marcelo Torres, Marcelo Melo and Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez used an AI application to bring back extinct molecules for testing against modern bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-extinct-molecules-modern-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:50:02 EDT news610014932 A research team led by Prof. Chen Yuxing and Prof. Zhou Cong from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) recently utilized single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to decipher the 3D structure and molecular mechanism of the platelet drug transporter ABCC4. The study was published online in Nature Cardiovascular Research. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-unveiling-3d-molecular-mechanism-platelet.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 11:57:28 EDT news609764244 Scientists from the Giulio Superti-Furga Lab at CeMM, the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, have developed a new method that allows the discovery of specific inhibitors of a lactate transporter associated with cancer and other disease areas. The compound identified in the assay system could provide a new starting point for cancer treatments. The study has now been published in Cell Chemical Biology. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-method-enabling-therapeutical-lactate.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 11:00:02 EDT news609695825 Researchers, led by Dr. Li Hongju from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have revealed that the female gamete in flowering plants controls fertilization recovery by secreting pollen tube attractants. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-female-gametes-fertilization-recovery.html Plants & Animals Cell & Microbiology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 11:00:02 EDT news609695904 In the never-ending arms race between bacteriophages and their prokaryotic hosts, prokaryotes have developed diverse defense systems to fend off phage invasions. These defense systems include the restriction-modification (R-M) system and CRISPR-Cas system. The CRISPR-Cas system represents the only adaptive immune system. Consequently, phages have evolved anti-CRISPR proteins to counteract this system. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-reveal-bacteriophages-strategy-counteract-hosts.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:37:39 EDT news609759455 As life propagated across Earth in the form of the widest variety of single-celled organisms, sometime between 3.5 and 1 billion years ago one such organism managed an evolutionary coup: Instead of devouring and digesting bacteria, it encapsulated its prey and used it as a source of energy. As a host cell, it offered protection and nutrition in return. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-mitochondria-stress.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:37:00 EDT news609759417 On a rush-hour train or a crowded flight, you might draw your limbs in close, shrinking as people fill the space. As it turns out, living cells behave similarly in confinement, adjusting their size while growing alongside other cells in sheets of tissue. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-cells-confinement-people-crowds-similar.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:36:39 EDT news609759395 Microorganisms use the CRISPR-Cas system to fight viral attacks. In genetic engineering, the microbial immune system is used for the targeted modification of the genetic make-up. A research team has now discovered another function of this specialized genomic sequence: archaea—microorganisms that are often very similar to bacteria in appearance—also use them to fight parasites. The team, under the leadership of Professor Dr. Alexander Probst, microbiologist at the Research Center One Health Ruhr at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), has now published its findings in Nature Microbiology. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-microorganisms-ward-parasites-potential-function.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:29:34 EDT news609758966 Nitrogen, especially in the form of inorganic nitrite and nitrate, is one of the major pollutants in freshwaters and human wastewater. Researchers from the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources in Xiamen and the IGB have identified a natural fungus-bacteria consortium that metabolizes nitrate particularly efficiently and consistently. This could be crucial for the further development of biotechnological approaches in water treatment and provides further evidence of the important role of fungi in aquatic ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-purification-biotechnology-approach-combining-fungi.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:18:12 EDT news609758290 RIKEN researchers have uncovered how one species of gut bacteria causes fruit flies to perish early. This discovery illuminates the complex interactions between the microbes in our guts and our health. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-gut-microbe-flies-fast-die.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:14:45 EDT news609754467 Researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the University of Chicago have discovered semiconductor nanocluster precipitation within the periplasmic space of Gram-negative bacteria for efficient solar-driven chemical production. The findings were published in Science Advances on July 21. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-exploring-potential-periplasmic-biosynthesis-efficient.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:14:03 EDT news609754441 Six structures exhibited by the rotating sodium ion pump were reconstructed in 3D using cryo-electron microscopy. This analysis revealed that the rotor exhibits non-uniform rotation behavior due to partial structural interference with the stator component, and the rotor interacts with one edge of the large ion transport ring causing it to rotate. The study showed a unique molecular mechanism of the rotary sodium ion pump. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-reveals-states-rotary-sodium-ion.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 05:00:02 EDT news609683350 Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study by Giovanni Strona of the European Commission Joint Research Center and colleagues, published July 27 in the open-access journal PLOS Computational Biology. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-time-traveling-pathogens-permafrost-pose-environment.html Ecology Cell & Microbiology Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:00:01 EDT news609672050 For thousands of years, the highly infectious disease cholera has been one of the most feared infections in the world. As it should. The mortality rate was high. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-bacteria-cholera-crucial-antibiotics.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 27 Jul 2023 13:12:03 EDT news609682321 In the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, photosynthesis and aerobic respiration take place in chloroplasts and mitochondria, respectively, while anaerobic fermentation can occur independently in the cytoplasm, mitochondria, and chloroplasts. How these three fundamental energy metabolism processes can occur in harmony within a single cell remains largely unexplored. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-anaerobic-fermentation-metabolites-suppress-photosynthesis.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:35:03 EDT news609680102