Of course there are way too many microbiology stories than I can blog about. Here are some other fascinating finds throughout the year:
A bacteria that eats plastic:
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a component of many plastic products that have accumulated in large quantities in the environment. Researchers have isolated a bacterium that uses PET as its main energy and carbon source. This bacterium can be further developed to efficiently degrade or ferment PET waste products.
Human microbiome bacteria produces a novel antibiotic that prevents Staphylococcus aureus colonization:
Many bacteria are known to produce antibiotics to compete with one another. Nasal carriers of Staphylococcus aureus predisposes a person to opportunistic S. aureus infections. A nasal bacterium named Staphylococcus lugdunensis was found to produce lugdunin, a novel antibiotic that prevents S. aureus colonization. This study suggests that the human microbiota can be an important source for further antibiotic discovery.
Bacteria cling to ice for survival:
Marinomonas primoryensis produces an ice-binding protein to help it adhere to ice. This provides oxygen and nutrients to the bacterium since it can remain at the top freezing bodies of water. This ice-binding protein is the first known surface adhesin protein that has evolved to bind ice.
Raw milk microbiota:
The changes in the microbiota of raw milk as it undergoes transport, storage and processing are not clearly understood. By analyzing bacterial communities in raw milk at different stages of processing during different times of the year, scientists from UC Davis identified a core microbiota that undergoes seasonal trends. The raw milk microbiome can be used to inform milk manufacturing practices to produce consistently high-quality products.
Evidence of life 3,700 million years ago found on metamorphosed sedimentary rocks that contain 1-4 cm high stromatolites:
When did life arise? Previously, evidence for the oldest life on Earth relied on stable isotopic signatures but it is much harder to actually find the fossilized remains of life. Now, stromatolites (fossilized microbial mats) from 3,700 million years ago have been found in the Isua supracrustral belt in southwest Greenland.
Think again about the five-second rule:
The five-second rule, the belief that food dropped on the floor for less than five seconds is safe to eat, has been disproven. Scientists from Rutgers used a combination of four difference surfaces types with four different foods to show that transfer of bacteria from the floor to these foods may in some cases happen in less than one second.
