Researchers gain insights into how ultrasmall bacteria from the environment have adapted to live inside humans (IMAGE)
Caption
Researchers hypothesized that ultra-small bacteria called TM7 acquired the Arginine Deiminase System (ADS) as an evolutionary advantage to help them adapt and survive in the human oral cavity. To test this hypothesis, scientists developed a model system to experimentally investigate the function and impact of ADS on TM7x and its host bacterium. They found that ADS helped TM7x break down arginine, a process that produces the compounds Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and ammonia. The increased abundance of ATP and ammonia benefitted TM7x by increasing its infectivity, or ability to multiply. It also protected TM7x and its host bacterium from acid stress, a condition that microbes frequently encounter in the human oral cavity due to the acid created when bacteria feed on and metabolize dietary carbohydrates.
Credit
Dr. Jing “Janet” Tian, Pediatric Dentist, Peking University Hospital of Stomatology, visiting scholar, The Forsyth Institute.
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Email jtian.jingtian@gmail.com for permission to use.
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