Welcome to the Microbiology Information

According research scientists, studies have found that certain yeasts can be used to detect explosives.

Biochemist, Dr Dhanasekaran and his team have isolated and developed a type of yeast that can “sniff out” dynamite. They knew that rats have a super sense of smell, so the team took the genetic building blocks from a rat’s nose and incorporated them into yeast. They then added a special ingredient to makes the yeast glow green when it detects a component of TNT.

This is the same principle used when scientist took a protein from jellyfish known to light up when stimulated. When combined with the rat, NASA cells and the yeast, they created a compound that can actually “smell” bomb components like TNT. The compound then “lights” up to signal the presence of explosives.

Dr Dhanasekaran wrote in “nature chemical biology,” the yeast can actually detect small amounts of the explosive in liquid. They are now further developing it as a remote air sniffer about the size of a portable PDA.

Dr Dhanasekaran says “You can leave it in the airport or you can leave it on a highway, and immediately, as soon as it comes, you can monitor it from far away,”

Researchers hope that with additional work, they’ll have yeast “lighting the way” to other hazardous agents such as toxic gases, dangerous fumes and so forth.

The scientists hope this airborne detector will eventually become so sensitive that it can detect explosives from up to three-hundred feet away.

According to the Daily India, a new study has found that a precursor of niacin prolongs the life-span in yeast. This discovery has brought scientists a step closer to the possibility of finding a vitamin for longevity in humans.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Charles Brenner at Dartmouth Medical School.

The study builds on Brenner’s prior discovery of the vitamin nicotinamide riboside which is a natural product found in milk. Like the B3 vitamin niacin, nicotinamide riboside is a precursor to a versatile cellular factor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide which is vital for all life and is elevated by calorie restriction.

As part of this study, researchers provided the newly discovered vitamin to yeast cells, whose genes are easy to manipulate, to develop an intervention to elevating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide.

Researchers found that the vitamin activated the yeast’s anti-ageing gene product Sir2, which resembles sirtuins found in humans.

“It’s surprising that no one was be able to elevate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide with a small molecule before,” Brenner said.

At the molecular level, elevating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide to turn on Sir2 actually enabled the yeast to silence genes that are not supposed to be expressed. In any organism, not all genes are on at once. In yeast, there are sets of genes that Sir2 normally represses.

“We showed that that we could improve Sir2-dependent gene silencing with NR and increase the longevity of yeast grown in high glucose conditions,” Brenner said.

Researchers found conditions in which wild-type cells can’t accomplish normal gene silencing to test for Sir2 gene repression.

Researchers found that yeast cells formerly capable of dividing 13 times, divided over 23 times when given nicotinamide riboside. There are still further testing for nicotinamide riboside in humans.

“As a natural product found in milk, we expect the compound to be much safer than most drugs, and to be a more specific remedy than most vitamins,” Brenner said.

Did you know that Candidiasis is a commonly known as a yeast or fungi infection and will occur at least once in 75 percent of all women. There are over 20 species of Candida with the most common strain being Candida albicans. These fungi live on all surfaces of our bodies. Under certain conditions, they can become so numerous they cause infections, particularly in warm and moist areas. Examples of such infections are vaginal yeast infections, thrush, skin and diaper rash, and nailed infections.

Symptoms include itching, irritation and a thick, white vaginal discharge. These infections often result after taking an antibiotic, which kills the protective lactobacilli microflora of the vagina. Yeast infections are not sexually transmitted.

Prevention tips: Drink plenty of water, urinate after sex, and eat a low-carbohydrate diet (yeast tends to grow when blood sugar is high), and consume live culture yogurt or acidophilus supplements.

Treatments include over the counter antifungal preparations like Monistat and prescription antifungal. One type is Azole medications and these are a family of antifungal drugs that end in the suffix “-azole.” They act by blocking the manufacture of ergosterol, a crucial material of the yeast cell wall.

Without ergosterol, the yeast cell wall becomes leaky and the yeast die. Fortunately, ergosterol is not a component of human membranes, and azoles do not harm human cells.

Another group is the polyene antifungals which includes nystatin and amphotericin B. Nystatin is used for thrush and superficial candidal infections. Doctors normally reserve amphotericin B for more serious systemic fungal infections. Unlike Azole, Polyene antifungals work by attaching to the yeast cell wall building material, ergosterol. These medications then form artificial holes in the yeast wall that causes the yeast to leak and die.

According to the Daily India, a new study has found that a precursor of niacin prolongs the life-span in yeast. This discovery has brought scientists a step closer to the possibility of finding a vitamin for longevity in humans.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Charles Brenner at Dartmouth Medical School.

The study builds on Brenner’s prior discovery of the vitamin nicotinamide riboside which is a natural product found in milk. Like the B3 vitamin niacin, nicotinamide riboside is a precursor to a versatile cellular factor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide which is vital for all life and is elevated by calorie restriction.

As part of this study, researchers provided the newly discovered vitamin to yeast cells, whose genes are easy to manipulate, to develop an intervention to elevating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide.

Researchers found that the vitamin activated the yeast’s anti-ageing gene product Sir2, which resembles sirtuins found in humans.

“It’s surprising that no one was be able to elevate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide with a small molecule before,” Brenner said.

At the molecular level, elevating nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide to turn on Sir2 actually enabled the yeast to silence genes that are not supposed to be expressed. In any organism, not all genes are on at once. In yeast, there are sets of genes that Sir2 normally represses.

“We showed that that we could improve Sir2-dependent gene silencing with NR and increase the longevity of yeast grown in high glucose conditions,” Brenner said.

Researchers found conditions in which wild-type cells can’t accomplish normal gene silencing to test for Sir2 gene repression.

Researchers found that yeast cells formerly capable of dividing 13 times, divided over 23 times when given nicotinamide riboside. There are still further testing for nicotinamide riboside in humans.

“As a natural product found in milk, we expect the compound to be much safer than most drugs, and to be a more specific remedy than most vitamins,” Brenner said.

Ingredients manufacturers are seeking new ways to help dairy manufactures add value and extend their product lines. Along with the health benefits offered by probiotics, new aromas that appeal to consumers are emerging as a means of differentiation in the category. With this is mind, Cargill has introduced a new aromatic cheese culture to create subtle fruity aromas in the rind and mould of ripened cheese, a quality said to be sought after by consumers.

“The ripened cheese market is very much driven by the quest of consumers for cheeses with a more specific and stronger aroma,” said Gilles Arpaillanges, who is responsible for dairy technical support for surface and ripening cultures. He said that the combination of sweet, fruity or floral creamy notes with a creamy texture are particularly popular.

The new culture, Geotrichum fragrans, was developed using computerized cheese modelling process, which enabled the Research and Development team to study a culture’s aromatic profile using chromatography and olfactometry.

Geotrichum fragrans is a fungus that develops naturally on the surface of certain cheeses. It forms part of the normal flora of Saint Nectaire.
The culture is either inoculated in the milk or applied to the surface of ripening cheeses, and expresses itself best at temperatures exceeding 12C. Its activity is explained as metabolizing and quickly hydrolyzing the milk fats, then producing volatile aromatic compounds such as esters and alcohols. At the same time, it allows the pH value to be raised, but degrading the lactic acid.

When combined with other microbial flavoring cultures from Cargill’s range, Geotrichum fragrans is said to be suitable for all the main cheese technologies which includes both soft and hard cheeses.

This is not the first time that culture-makers have targeted cheese consumers with fruity designs. In late 2005 Danisco extended its Choozit range of cheese cultures with a tutti-fruity flavored Geotrichum candidum, intended for a range of soft cheeses from goat’s cheese to camembert.

Cargill claims that the difference between its strain and Geotrichum candidum is that it generates more fruity aromatic notes such as apple and banana and fresh, soft, creamy notes.

Geotrichum fragrans was developed in France. Cargill Texturizing Solutions has its global headquarters in Belgium. A spokesperson said that the primary market for the culture is presently pan-European.

According to the Lancet, a new treatment for Candida species has been proven to be equally effective and with les side effects than the current treatment. Candida, especially Candia albicans is a yeast fungus that multiplies rapidly and cause thrush (infection of the vagina). Candida can also cause sepsis which is a life-threatening infection leading to fever, hypotension, and shock.

Researchers led by Oliver Cornely, from the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, tested the effectiveness of two well known treatments, liposomal amphotericin B and micafungin, against the common infections candidaemia and invasive candidosis.

A total of 531 patients with these infections were split into two groups and given either micafungin 100mg per day or liposomal amphotericin B 3mg per kg body weight daily. The success rate of both drugs was almost exactly the same - 89.6% for micofungin versus 89.6% for liposomal amphotericin B.

The effectiveness of either treatment was independent of primary site of infection and the patient’s immune status, and whether or not a catheter had been fitted during treatment.

But micafungin produced fewer treatment related side effects than liposomal amphotericin B. Increased problems with kidney function, as well as higher occurrence of problems during drug administration, were observed in the patients receiving liposomal amphotericin B.

The authors conclude: “Our results establish micafungin as a treatment option for first-line therapy of candidaemia and invasive candidosis.”

They add: “Micafungin also has broad-spectrum activity against Aspergillosis species, thus to assess its efficacy in the treatment of invasive aspergillosis will be an important future goal.”

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According to the Science Daily, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Peoria, Ill., are thrilled about the latest addition to their team, an automated one armed robot.

With the new robot, they expect it to accelerate studies aimed at harnessing the power of proteins for industrial uses, such as making fuel ethanol from fibrous corn stover.

The blue robotic arm takes over repetitive tasks by moving plates of samples during testing. It is the centerpiece of an automated system called the “plasmid-based functional proteomics work cell.” According to Stephen Hughes, a molecular biologist with the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, the system is the first of its kind to fully automate several procedures that have traditionally been carried out by human hands.

Some of the main functions includes extracting genetic material from the cells of plants, microbes and other organisms; making DNA copies of genes; inserting the copies into Escherichia coli; culturing these bacteria so that the copies can be sequenced and their proteins identified and inserting desirable genes into yeasts used to make ethanol.

because of its accurate, precise and fast movements of its mechanized arm, the robotic system can carry out such tasks hundreds or even thousands of times faster than a human could, notes Hughes. He and colleagues at the ARS center’s Bioproducts and Biocatalysis Research Unit co developed the system with a team from Hudson Control Group of Springfield, N.J., starting in 2004.

Of particular interest is using the robotic system to genetically modify new strains of Saccharomyces yeast that can metabolize sugars locked up within corn fiber, something these microbial workhorses have so far failed to do.

Currently, only the starch from corn and other grain crops is being converted commercially into the sugars from which ethanol is derived. With the Saccharomyces yeasts now used, this equates to nearly three gallons of ethanol from a bushel of corn. Using new strains capable of breaking down corn fiber could potentially squeeze 10 percent more ethanol from the grain, Hughes and colleagues estimate.

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