Scientists discover intelligent defense mechanisms for bacteria

Recently, scientists have discovered important new information about how bacteria grow and reproduce, which could help to discover new antibiotic drugs that are so desperately neededUsing diamond light source, a research institute in Oxfordshire, uk, scientists have identified the structure of EzrA, a protein that helps build its own defensive cell wall as bacteria divide and spread"text-align: center;"img src""alt""scientists find intelligent defense mechanisms for bacteria" title""all cells have an outer layer that forms a protective barrier around important genetic informationFor some bacteria, when they spread in the body, a solid outer layer helps invading cells survive attack; However, there are many loopholes in the knowledge of how these protective layers develop when bacterial cells divide and spread in the bodybacteria spread through cell division; once the bacterial cells grow to their full size, they begin to tighten a band around the inside, which becomes tighter than ever before, until it eventually divides the old cells into two separate cellsWhen this happens, the cell must accurately copy its genome so that each new bacterial cell contains the same genetic information as the other cellsIn this way, bacteria ensure that they maintain a strong defense mechanism in each new cell as they spread through the bodyNow, a team from Newcastle University used the powerful X-ray light from Diamond's I04-1 beam to determine the atomic structure of the protein that helps drive the systemEzrA is an important protein that regulates the cell division processIt helps control another protein, FtsZ, which manages the contraction of the strip that causes bacterial cells to divide into twoHowever, the atomic structure of FtsZ has been clarified, and now advanced synchrotron technology allows scientists to further reveal the protein EzrA that supports the processresearch published in the November 18, 2014 issue of Nature Communications, shows that the atomic structure of the EzrA protein is both beautiful and complexThe shape of EzrA is an unusual conformation, like a circle, in which it can hold the strip-tightening protein FtsZEzrA's ring structure prevents the FtsZ protein from escaping until it has completed its purpose: causing the cell strip to contract and dividing the cell into two, while the genome of the parent cell is copied and passed on to the childrenthe discovery of the EzrA structure is particularly significant because it can help identify new targets for future antibioticsUnderstanding the atomic structure of EzrA could help scientists develop ways to disable it, preventing bacteria from splitting correctly Without these vital proteins, bacteria cannot produce a protective cell wall for each new cell as they divide and spread, exposing the new cells to attack "Ezra's structure is the most beautiful and interesting I've ever seen, and I probably wouldn't have believed it if I had been told four years ago, at the beginning of this work, that EzrA would have formed such a structure," commented Rick Lewis, a professor of structural biology at Newcastle University who led the project at Nature continues to surprise and inspire us I hope that this amazing work by our team and colleagues and collaborators will inspire others to delve into the problem of how bacteria divide Of course, none of this would have been possible without the support of Diamond and his employees, and we will always be grateful to them " because of advances in science and technology, in-depth study of the atomic structure of living things is becoming more and more feasible Powerful scientific machines, such as Diamond, allow scientists to see things that are too small to be seen with a standard microscope Since its inception, Diamond has supported the resolution of more than 2,000 such protein structures uncover a particular part of the puzzle that has the potential to have a significant impact on future antibiotic targets, and the discovery of the EzrA structure helps us understand a crucial area: the significance of tiny proteins in our body operations These complex and elegant structures, responsible for many important biological processes, and such discoveries are essential for our broader understanding of disease and treatment