Guest guest Posted March 16, 2000 Report Share Posted March 16, 2000 Home > News & Reports > Daily Briefing > Bacteria Switch Identified MAY 11, 1999 Bacteria Switch Identified Scientists have discovered a " switch " in bacteria that helps trigger infection, a finding that could lead to treatments designed to turn off this switch and prevent illness. Researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara say a gene found in salmonella called DAM creates a protein that activates other genes to begin infection. This process appears to only occur once the salmonella is inside a host, in the intestines of a human or animal, for example. Outside a host, the DAM gene is inactive, researchers say. Their research shows that when DAM is knocked out, salmonella is unable to infect the host. Salmonella is a major source of food poisoning in humans and is often contracted by consuming undercooked chicken or eggs, or other contaminated foods. The researchers also report in the May 7 issue of Science that once the inactivated salmonella is inside a host, it acts like a vaccine, causing the host's immune system to create antibodies that attack the altered salmonella. They say this discovery could lead to vaccines and more effective antibiotics that would deactivate the gene. Many diseases caused by bacteria have become more resistant to antibiotics in recent years. Daily Briefings by Katrina Woznicki http://onhealth.com/ch1/briefs/item,39814.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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