Bacterial Immune System
Saturday June 10, 2006
Researchers have discovered that bacteria have a protein called H-NS, which allows them to recognize and deactivate DNA from other organisms.
Harmless bacteria are able to acquire DNA from other disease-causing bacteria, such as Salmonella. The protein H-NS enables the bacteria to turn these newly acquired genes on when infecting a host, and turn them off in other environments.
The researchers believe that this discovery is helpful in determining the evolution of bacteria from harmless to disease-causing bacteria.
Read about this study: Bacteria Have Their Own Immune System Protecting Against Outside DNA Science Daily
Harmless bacteria are able to acquire DNA from other disease-causing bacteria, such as Salmonella. The protein H-NS enables the bacteria to turn these newly acquired genes on when infecting a host, and turn them off in other environments.
The researchers believe that this discovery is helpful in determining the evolution of bacteria from harmless to disease-causing bacteria.
Read about this study: Bacteria Have Their Own Immune System Protecting Against Outside DNA Science Daily
Comments
If I understand this correctly, this acquiring of DNA, by harmless bacteria, from harmful bacteria can be harmful to any organism whether singular or multicellular as organisms are susceptible to protrusion by other organisms. On the other hand, if the harmless bacteria strips the harmful bacteria of its disease causing alleles this may, on a particular scale, help to fight the disease causing population, as the harmless bacteria are able to turn these newly acquired geans off in a given environment.