Science News | Harmless gut bacteria can evolve and cause life-threatening infections

Washington [US], February 12 (ANI): In a recent study, an international team of scientists easily picked up the genes needed for the harmless E. coli gut bacteria in chickens to evolve and cause life-threatening infections. I decided if I could do it.

The study, published in Nature Communications, warns that such infections not only affect the poultry industry, but can also infect humans.

E. coli is a common bacterium that lives in the intestines of most animals, including humans. It is usually harmless if it stays in the intestines, but it can be very dangerous if it gets into the bloodstream, causing systemic infections and even death.

Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) in birds is the most common infectious disease in chickens raised for meat and eggs. Up to 20% of cases can lead to death, causing millions of pounds of loss in the poultry industry. This problem is exacerbated by increased resistance to antibiotics, and infections also carry the risk of causing illness in humans.

A team of scientists led by the Milner Evolution Center at the University of Bath has sequenced and analyzed the entire genome of E. coli found in healthy and infected chickens raised in commercial poultry farms, and of these normally harmless bugs. I got a better understanding of why and how. It can be fatal.

They found that there was no single gene responsible for switching harmless bacteria to pathogenic bacteria, but rather it could be caused by several combinations of diverse groups of genes. ..

Their results show that all bacteria in the chicken gut may pick up the genes needed to turn into a dangerous infection through a process called horizontal gene transfer.

Horizontal gene transfer allows bacteria to acquire new genetic material from other nearby bacteria. This can be caused by removing DNA molecules from dead bacteria. By “bacterial sex” or by exchanging DNA strands by infecting a virus that transfers DNA from one bacterium to another.

The study was led by Professor Sam Shepard of the Milner Evolution Center at the University of Bath. He states: “Previously, we thought that E. coli could become pathogenic by obtaining specific genes from other bugs that are often packaged in moving elements called plasmids.

“But our study compared the harmless E. coli genomes that cause chicken disease and found that simply picking up a gene from the environment could” exacerbate “.

“Bacteria always do this in the intestines of chickens, but in most cases the removed genes are harmful to the bacteria, which is a dead end for evolution.

“But there are 26 billion chickens around the world, which is about 70 percent of the biomass of all birds on the planet.

“It increases the likelihood that bacteria will pick up genes that may help them survive and become infectious, or even jump species to infect humans.”

The authors of the study emphasize the need to monitor strains that are most likely to be pathogenic so that they can be treated before they become dangerous.

“I was surprised to learn that not only a single strain can cause APEC, but any strain can acquire the” monster combination “of the genes needed to make it worse,” Shepherd said. Stated.

The same methods used to detect mutant strains of Covid19 can be used to identify strains that may become pathogenic. After whole-genome sequencing, rapid PCR tests can be used to look for specific genes that may lead to APEC infection.

“If we can identify about 20 genes commonly found in pathogenic insects and look for these important genes in a flock of birds, we will target those carriers before farmers cause problems,” shepherd said. It will help you to do it. ” (ANI)

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