†Department of Physics, and ‡Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden Langmuir, 2016, 32 (18), pp 4521–4529 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b03845 Abstract Bacterial cells display a diverse array of surface organelles that are important for a range of processes such as intercellular communication, motility and adhesion leading to biofilm formation…
A protocol to isolate bacterial colonies is a crucial tool for any life scientist to have in their toolbox. There are several different variations of a procedure called streaking (insert funny comments here.) I would like to go over one I used countless times during my studies for my biomedical engineering degree. That procedure is called the Streak Plate Method using…
B. PROKARYOTIC CELL ANATOMY In this section on Prokaryotic Cell Anatomy we are looking at the various anatomical parts that make up a bacterium. As mentioned in the introduction to this section, a typical bacterium usually consists of: We will now look at the bacterial chromosome located in the nuclear region called the nucleoid. A. Structure and Composition of the…
Bacterial DNA – a circular chromosome plus plasmids The DNA of most bacteria is contained in a single circular molecule, called the bacterial chromosome. The chromosome, along with several proteins and RNA molecules, forms an irregularly shaped structure called the nucleoid. This sits in the cytoplasm of the bacterial cell. In addition to the chromosome, bacteria…
Plasma membrane- The membrane enclosing a cell is made up of two lipid layers called a bilipid membrane. The lipids that are present in the plasma membrane are called phospholipids. These lipid layers are made up of a number of fatty acid building blocks. The fatty acid that makes up this membrane has two different parts to it- a small water loving head- hydrophilic…
Wooley, J.C., Godzik, A., Friedberg, I. (2010). A primer on metagenomics. Public Library of Science Computational Biology, 6(2), e1667. Review. Preidis, G.A., Versalovic, J. (2009). Targeting the human microbiome with antibiotics, probiotics, and prebiotics: gastroenterology enters the metagenomics era. Gastroenterology, 136(6), 2015-2031. Review. Simon, C., Daniel…
Because bacteria and viruses cause many of the diseases we re familiar with, people often confuse these two microbes. But viruses are as different from bacteria as goldfish are from giraffes. For one thing, they differ greatly in size. The biggest viruses are only as large as the tiniest bacteria. Another difference is their structure. Bacteria are complex compared…
Forest tree stumps support a diverse fungal community coexisting with the root rot fungus Heterobasidion. Credit: Tuula Piri, Luke According to research conducted at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), some fungal viruses (mycoviruses) that infect fungi associated with forest trees are able to cross the barriers between distantly related fungal species…
As the CosmosID blog illustrates regularly, microbes are remarkable for their ability to shape and affect just about every aspect of the world we live in. Yet, each week we are newly awed by publications that highlight discoveries of microbial feats and applications. This week was no different, as we were captivated by a story about a researcher who aims to cure cancer…
All living things are made up of cells. The structures of different types of cells are related to their functions. Animal cells and plant cells have features in common, such as a nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, mitochondria and ribosomes. Plant and algal cells also have a cell wall, and often have chloroplasts and a permanent vacuole. Bacterial and yeast cells…
Definition: The cytoplasm consists of all of the contents outside of the nucleus and enclosed within the cell membrane of a cell. It is clear in color and has a gel-like appearance. The cytoplasm is composed mainly of water and also contains enzymes, salts, organelles, and various organic molecules. Cytoplasm Function The cytoplasm functions to support and suspend…
Dr. Parvaiz Ahmad is the Senior Assistant Professor in Department of Botany at Sri Pratap College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. He completed his postgraduate education in Botany in 2 at Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India. After receiving a Doctorate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, India, he joined the International Centre for Genetic…
Among the extensive cortège of plant-associated microorganisms (the so-called plant microbiota), mutualistic fungal and bacterial symbionts are striking examples of soil microorganisms that have successfully coevolved with their hosts since plants adapted to terrestrial ecosystems. They promote plant growth by facilitating the acquisition of scarce nutrients. In these…
Any part of the human body that is open to the outside world it available for the colonisation of bacteria. While this blog has covered bacteria in the and the throat, one area I ve neglected to cover is the bacteria that get into the lungs. As the company I currently work for is involved in respiratory research I was rather excited to find a PLoS One paper that looked…
