Lessons from bacteria: Novel antimicrobial strategies based on interspecies metabolic cooperation
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MIMS- scientist publish in the high-impact Journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology, ISME.
An important survival strategy in bacteria is the release of toxic substances, which can attack and kill cells and other bacteria. One of these substances are D-amino acids, which are secreted to the environment at high concentrations by very diverse bacteria. D-amino acids interfere with the growth of neighboring competitors thereby improving the chances of producer species to colonize an specific niche. Felipe Cava's research group at The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) studied the biological effects caused by distinct D-amino acids released by the causative agent of cholera, Vibrio cholerae. The study was performed in collaboration with Miguel A de Pedro, a former visiting professor at Umeå University and investigator at the Centro de Biología Molecular ‘Severo Ochoa’, CSIC in Madrid, Spain.
The scientists found that D-Arginine is a very potent and very broad growth inhibitor of many diverse bacterial species, including pathogenic ones such as Burkholderias, well known for their implication in pulmonary infections and their broad antibiotic resistance.
"We found that D-Arginine is a key environmental factor that controls both fitness and survival of bacterial subpopulations and therefore can modulate the existing biodiversity within an ecological niche" explains Laura Alvarez, postdoctoral researcher who conducted the study.
Alvarez and colleagues found, too, that although all the members of the Vibrionaceae family were resistant to D-arginine, not all of them produce this effector. This behavior suggests that a few vibrios may have evolved to help members of the family in an altruistic cooperation to facilitate prevalence of the entire vibrio in a particular ambient.
ubilee symposium to celebrate Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation's 100 years anniversary
More than 140 scientists started the new year with the UCMR DAY 2017, on 12th of January. In lively discussions the microbiologists spent the day not only with talks but also with mingling at the posters, during coffee and lunch breaks, updating themselves and guests about ongoing research projects.