Biological complexity: teaching bacteria new tricks (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, April 25, 2016, 18:31 (2913 days ago) @ David Turell

In the discussion of how bacteria respond, the fact that the bacterial genome can be manipulated to make bacteria have new behaviors plays a strong role in my contention that it is all automatic:-https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160425095345.htm-"Johanna Roßmanith and her doctoral supervisor Prof Dr Franz Narberhaus from the Chair of Microbial Biology carried out a successful study where they controlled the type of proteins a bacterium would manufacture and its behaviour. This is how they have made a bacterium swim that hadn't previously had the ability to move. The researchers made that possible by combining various modules from the bacterium's RNA in a new way.-"In the study, which was published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, the biologists utilised so-called riboswitches, also called RNA switches, and RNA thermometers. Riboswitches detect if there is a surplus of a certain metabolic product in the cell, and they regulate the biosynthesis or intake of that substance, if necessary.-"RNA thermometers control a number of temperature-sensitive processes. For example, a bacterium that finds its ways from contaminated water into the human body notices the difference in temperature. As a result, it produces certain factors that lead to an infection of the host.-***-"Following an alternative strategy, she integrated the thermometer structure in the riboswitch. Both methods resulted in the creation of novel functional elements that respond to a combination of one chemical and one physical signal, in this instance temperature.-***-"In order to make the above-mentioned bacteria swim, the researchers placed a gene responsible for bacterial locomotion under the control of the newly combined RNA regulators. The correct signal combination was crucial for the experiment to succeed. The riboswitch required, for example, a certain chemical substance in combination with a certain temperature.-"'RNA switches are not quite as modular as bricks in a model kit," admits Franz Narberhaus. "Ms Roßmanith had to test and optimise many combinations before she achieved functional blocks. Nevertheless, our results show that RNA modules have great potential in biotechnology for controlling processes in bacterial cells in a targeted manner."-Comment: A human acting like a god. Demonstrates it can all be automatic! Thank God for roboswitches (pun intended).