MSGID: 1:317/3 642ba7e8   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    New research shows that bacteria get 'hangry,' too    
      
     Date:   
         April 3, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of North Carolina Health Care   
     Summary:   
         Researchers have discovered, using a recently developed technology,   
         that genetically identical cells within a bacterial community have   
         different functions, with some members behaving more docile and   
         others producing the very toxins that make us feel ill.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Have you ever been so hungry that you become angry, otherwise known as   
   "hangry?" New research by Adam Rosenthal, PhD, assistant professor in the   
   Department of Microbiology and Immunology, has found that some bacteria   
   cells get hangry too, releasing harmful toxins into our bodies and making   
   us sick.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Rosenthal and his colleagues from Harvard, Princeton and Danisco Animal   
   Nutrition discovered, using a recently developed technology, that   
   genetically identical cells within a bacterial community have different   
   functions, with some members behaving more docile and others producing   
   the very toxins that make us feel ill.   
      
   "Bacteria behave much more different than we traditionally thought,"   
   said Rosenthal. "Even when we study a community of bacteria that are   
   all genetically identical, they don't all act the same way. We wanted   
   to find out why."  The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, are   
   particularly important in understanding how and why bacterial communities   
   defer duties to certain cells - - and could lead to new ways to tackle   
   antibiotic tolerance further down the line.   
      
   Rosenthal decided to take a closer look into why some cells act as   
   "well- behaved citizens" and others as "bad actors" that are tasked with   
   releasing toxins into the environment. He selected Clostridium perfringens   
   -- a rod- shaped bacterium that can be found in the intestinal tract   
   of humans and other vertebrates, insects, and soil -- as his microbe   
   of study.   
      
   With the help of a device called a microfluidic droplet generator,   
   they were able to separate, or partition, single bacterial cells into   
   droplets to decode every single cell.   
      
   They found that the C. perfringens cells that were not producing   
   toxins were well-fed with nutrients. On the other hand, toxin-producing   
   C. perfringenscells appear to be lacking those crucial nutrients.   
      
   "If we give more of these nutrients," postulated Rosenthal, "maybe we can   
   get the toxin-producing cells to behave a little bit better."  Researchers   
   then exposed the bad actor cells to a substance called acetate.   
      
   Their hypothesis rang true. Not only did toxin levels drop across the   
   community, but the number of bad actors reduced as well. But in the   
   aftermath of such astounding results, even more questions are popping up.   
      
   Now that they know that nutrients play a significant role in toxicity,   
   Rosenthal wonders if there are particular factors found in the environment   
   that may be 'turning on' toxin production in other types of infections,   
   or if this new finding is only true for C. perfringens.   
      
   Perhaps most importantly, Rosenthal theorizes that introducing nutrients   
   to bacteria could provide a new alternative treatment for animals and   
   humans, alike.   
      
   For example, the model organism Clostridium perfringensis a powerful foe   
   in the hen house. As the food industry is shifting away from the use of   
   antibiotics, poultry are left defenseless from the rapidly spreading,   
   fatal disease. The recent findings from Rosenthal et al. may give farmers   
   a new tool to reduce pathogenic bacteria without the use of antibiotics.   
      
   As for us humans, there is more work to be done. Rosenthal is in the   
   process of partnering with colleagues across UNC to apply his recent   
   findings to tackle antibiotic tolerance. Antibiotic tolerance occurs   
   when some bacteria are able to dodge the drug target even when the   
   community has not evolved mutations to make all cells resistant to an   
   antibiotic. Such tolerance can result in a less- effective treatment,   
   but the mechanisms controlling tolerance are not well understood.   
      
   In the meantime, Rosenthal will continue to research these increasingly   
   complex bacterial communities to better understand why they do what   
   they do.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Stem_Cells # Infectious_Diseases # Prostate_Cancer   
                   # Lymphoma   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Bacteria # Microbes_and_More # Microbiology # Biology   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Human_cloning o Toxic_shock_syndrome o   
             Streptococcus o Genetically_modified_organism o   
             Unified_neutral_theory_of_biodiversity o Gene_therapy o   
             Genetically_modified_food o Cloning   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   University_of_North_Carolina_Health_Care. Note: Content may be edited   
   for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Ryan McNulty, Duluxan Sritharan, Seong Ho Pahng, Jeffrey P. Meisch,   
         Shichen Liu, Melanie A. Brennan, Gerda Saxer, Sahand Hormoz, Adam Z.   
      
         Rosenthal. Probe-based bacterial single-cell RNA sequencing   
         predicts toxin regulation. Nature Microbiology, 2023; DOI:   
         10.1038/s41564-023- 01348-4   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230403133512.htm   
      
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