Escherichia coli ( ESH-ə-RIK-ee-ə KOH-ly) is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms. Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes such as EPEC, and ETEC are pathogenic and can cause serious food poisoning in their hosts, and are occasionally responsible for food contamination incidents that prompt product recalls. Most strains are part of the normal microbiota of the gut and are harmless or even beneficial to humans (although these strains tend to be less studied than the pathogenic ones). For example, some strains of E. coli benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2 or by preventing the colonization of the intestine by pathogenic bacteria. These mutually beneficial relationships between E. coli and humans are a type of mutualistic biological relationship — where both the humans and the E. coli are benefitting each other. E. coli is expelled into the environment within fecal matter. The bacterium grows massively in fresh fecal matter under aerobic conditions for three days, but its numbers decline slowly afterwards.
Mycobacterium leprae is one of the two species of bacteria that cause Hansen’s disease (leprosy), a chronic but curable infectious disease that damages the peripheral nerves and targets the skin, eyes, nose, and muscles.
In molecular biology and genetics, transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the direct uptake and incorporation of exogenous genetic material from its surroundings through the cell membrane(s). For transformation to take place, the recipient bacterium must be in a state of competence, which might occur in nature as a time-limited response to environmental conditions such as starvation and cell density, and may also be induced in a laboratory.
In materials science and molecular biology, thermostability is the ability of a substance to resist irreversible change in its chemical or physical structure, often by resisting decomposition or polymerization, at a high relative temperature.
Pseudomonas citronellolis is a Gram-negative, bacillus bacterium that is used to study the mechanisms of pyruvate carboxylase. It was first isolated from forest soil, under pine trees, in northern Virginia, United States.
In enzymology, a limonene-1,2-epoxide hydrolase (EC 3.3.2.8) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Aryldialkylphosphatase is a metalloenzyme that hydrolyzes the triester linkage found in organophosphate insecticides:
In enzymology, a 6-aminohexanoate-cyclic-dimer hydrolase (EC 3.5.2.12) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a 6-aminohexanoate-dimer hydrolase (EC 3.5.1.46) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction N-(6-aminohexanoyl)-6-aminohexanoate + H2O 2 6-aminohexanoate. Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are N-(6-aminohexanoyl)-6-aminohexanoate and H2O, whereas its product is two molecules of 6-aminohexanoate.
60S ribosomal protein L11 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RPL11 gene.
The discovery of nylon-eating bacteria has been used to educate and challenge creationist arguments against evolution and natural selection. These bacteria can produce novel enzymes that allow them to feed on by-products of nylon manufacture which did not exist prior to the invention of nylon in the 1930s. Observation of these adaptations refute religious and pseudoscientific claims that no new information can be added to a genome and that proteins are too complex to evolve through a process of mutation and natural selection. Apologists have produced reactionary literature attempting to deny that evolution occurs, in turn generating input from the scientific community.
A prokaryote is a single-cell organism whose cell lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. The word prokaryote comes from the Ancient Greek πρό 'before' and κάρυον 'nut, kernel'. In the two-empire system arising from the work of Édouard Chatton, prokaryotes were classified within the empire Prokaryota. But in the three-domain system, based upon molecular analysis, prokaryotes are divided into two domains: Bacteria and Archaea. Organisms with nuclei are placed in a third domain, Eukaryota.
Plasmid-mediated resistance is the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes which are carried on plasmids. Plasmids possess mechanisms that ensure their independent replication as well as those that regulate their replication number and guarantee stable inheritance during cell division. By the conjugation process, they can stimulate lateral transfer between bacteria from various genera and kingdoms. Numerous plasmids contain addiction-inducing systems that are typically based on toxin-antitoxin factors and capable of killing daughter cells that don't inherit the plasmid during cell division. Plasmids often carry multiple antibiotic resistance genes, contributing to the spread of multidrug-resistance (MDR). Antibiotic resistance mediated by MDR plasmids severely limits the treatment options for the infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria, especially family Enterobacteriaceae. The global spread of MDR plasmids has been enhanced by selective pressure from antimicrobial medications used in medical facilities and when raising animals for food.
Arabinogalactan endo-β-1,4-galactanase is an enzyme with systematic name arabinogalactan 4-β-D-galactanohydrolase. It specifically catalyses the hydrolysis (1→4)-β-D-galactosidic linkages in type I arabinogalactans.
Acidobacterium capsulatum is a bacterium. It is an acidophilic chemoorganotrophic bacterium containing menaquinone. It is gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, mesophilic, non-spore-forming, capsulated, saccharolytic and rod-shaped. It is also motile by peritrichous flagella. Its type strain is JCM 7670.
Cyclic di-AMP is a second messenger used in signal transduction in bacteria and archaea. It is present in many Gram-positive bacteria, some Gram-negative species, and archaea of the phylum euryarchaeota.
Paenarthrobacter ureafaciens is a bacterial species of the genus Paenarthrobacter. Polar lipid profile of this species is an unknown.
The enzyme MHETase is a hydrolase, which was discovered in 2016. It cleaves 2-hydroxyethyl terephthalic acid, the PET degradation product by PETase, to ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. This pair of enzymes, PETase and MHETase, enable the bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis to live on the plastic PET as sole carbon source.
Cytophaga hutchinsonii is a bacterial species in the genus Cytophaga. C. hutchinsonii is an aerobic, gram-negative, soil, microorganism that exhibits gliding motility, enabling it to move quickly over surfaces and is capable of cellulose degradation.
Plastic degradation in marine bacteria describes when certain pelagic bacteria break down polymers and use them as a primary source of carbon for energy. Polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are incredibly useful for their durability and relatively low cost of production, however it is their persistence and difficulty to be properly disposed of that is leading to pollution of the environment and disruption of natural processes. It is estimated that each year there are 9-14 million metric tons of plastic that are entering the ocean due to inefficient solutions for their disposal. The biochemical pathways that allow for certain microbes to break down these polymers into less harmful byproducts has been a topic of study to develop a suitable anti-pollutant.
