The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Salmonella bacteria use RNA to assess and adjust magnesium levels

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have added a gene in the bacterium Salmonella to the short list of genes regulated by a new mechanism known as the riboswitch.

The Salmonella riboswitch is the first to sense and respond to a metal ion, substantially expanding the types of molecules that riboswitches can detect to help cells assess and react to their environment.

First identified in 2002, riboswitches sense when a protein is needed and stop the creation of the protein if it isn't. That in itself isn't remarkable--scientists have been aware for decades of sensors in the cell that can cause molecules to bind to DNA to turn protein production on and off.

A riboswitch, however, doesn't rely on anything binding to DNA; instead, the switch is incorporated into messages for construction of proteins. These messages are protein-building instructions copied from DNA into strands of RNA. The riboswitch is a sensor within the RNA that can twist it into different configurations that block or facilitate the production of the protein encoded in the message.

Previously identified riboswitches respond to organic compounds such as nucleotides and sugars. The Salmonella riboswitch, reported in the April 7 issue of the journal Cell, responds to magnesium ions, key elements in the stability of cell membranes and reactants in an energy-making process that fuels most cells.

"Magnesium ions are essential to the stability of several different critical processes and structures in the cell, so there has to be a fairly intricate set of regulators to maintain consistent levels of it," says senior investigator Eduardo A. Groisman, Ph.D., professor of molecular microbiology. "To approach such a complex system, we study it in a simpler organism, the Salmonella bacterium."

Groisman and his colleagues uncovered the magnesium riboswitch while they were investigating the MgtA gene, which is controlled by the major
'"/>

Contact: Michael Purdy
purdym@wustl.edu
314-286-0122
Washington University School of Medicine
6-Apr-2006


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Detection of Salmonella in 24 hours
2. Salmonella survives better in stomach due to altered DNA
3. New study by UGA researcher shows that Salmonella uses hydrogen as an energy source
4. In limiting life span, study finds booming bacteria innocent
5. Cornell scientists link E. coli bacteria to Crohns disease
6. Pets could be source of multiresistant bacteria infections in humans, MU researchers investigate
7. Researchers watch antibiotics, bacteria meet at atomic level
8. A new plant-bacterial symbiotic mechanism promising
9. Piecing together the cyanobacteria puzzle
10. New research shows vaginal bacteria vary among healthy women, need customized treatment
11. New way to target and kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria found

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Salmonella bacteria use RNA assess and adjust magnesium levels

(Date:11/24/2009)..., 2009) New research on bacterial communities thr...predictable temporal patterns, suggesting that sci... monitoring climate change in the polar regions. T...of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition...rs shifted synchronously over time, correlating wi...
(Date:11/23/2009)...ber 23, 2009 Applied mathematicians dissected the...a ), a characteristic long leaf with a saddle-like...he edges. The simple cause of the lily,s fan-like ...ing differential growthwas revealed by using an eq..., Haiyi Liang, a postdoctoral student at Harvard,...
(Date:11/23/2009)...earch suggests that a common oral bacterium may ex...y Nichols et al, "Unique Lipids from a Common Huma...Capable of Enhancing Autoimmunity," appears in the...athology . , Multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease ...al cord, affects nearly 1 in 700 people in the Uni...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Researchers establish common seasonal pattern among bacterial communities in Arctic rivers 2The cause behind the characteristic shape of a long leaf revealed 2Factors from common human bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis 2AbbeyMoor Medical Receives Category I CPT 28R 29 Code for The Spanner 28TM 29 Prostatic Stent Procedure 5491 1AbbeyMoor Medical Receives Category I CPT 28R 29 Code for The Spanner 28TM 29 Prostatic Stent Procedure 5491 2AbbeyMoor Medical Receives Category I CPT 28R 29 Code for The Spanner 28TM 29 Prostatic Stent Procedure 5491 3Pelleve 28TM 29 Wrinkle Treatment System Featured On Beauty Spaces TV Show 5489 1Pelleve 28TM 29 Wrinkle Treatment System Featured On Beauty Spaces TV Show 5489 2CardioGenics Holdings Inc Provides Update on FINRA Submission Regarding Name Change 5487 1CardioGenics Holdings Inc Provides Update on FINRA Submission Regarding Name Change 5487 2
(Date:11/24/2009)...ov.24/PRNewswire-Asia/--ShanghaiBiolaxyannouncedth...approvedthe,investigationalnewdrugapplication(IND)...linformulationtotreatdiabetes.ThisIND,approvalallo..., Diabetesisadisordercharacteristicofhighbloodg...softenresultinseveremicro-and,macro-vasculardiseas...
(Date:11/24/2009)... The FBI recently approved the Promega Powe...pating in or generating DNA records for the Nation...dison, WI USA (PRWEB) -- The FBI recently approved... by laboratories participating in, or generating D...S). NDIS currently contains more than seven millio...
(Date:11/24/2009)...:HTL , TORONTO,Nov.24/PRNewswire-FirstCall/-H...lInc.,aleadingproviderofadvancedlasersystemsandins...rkets,todayreportedoperationalandfinancialresultsf...Highlights,-Revenuewas$1.46millioncomparedwith$1....comparedwith66.1percentinQ3,2008,-Netlossreducedto...
(Date:11/24/2009)...ov.24,2009/PRNewswire-FirstCall/--ArenaPharmaceuti...panyisscheduledtopresentatthePiperJaffray21stAnnua...sternTime(8:30a.m.PacificTime)attheNewYorkPalaceHo...efExecutiveOfficer,isscheduledtoprovideanoverviewo...overyprograms. ,, Aliveaudiowebcastofthepresent...
Breaking Biology Technology:Biolaxy Secures IND Approval for Oral Insulin 2NDIS Approval of Promega PowerPlex Kit Clears Path for More DNA Profiles to be Added to U.S. Database 2Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 2Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 3Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 4Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 5Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 6Hamilton Thorne announces third quarter results 7Arena Pharmaceuticals to Present at the Piper Jaffray 21st Annual Health Care Conference 2
Other News:
To gauge the toxicity of Pfiesteria, the important single-celled fish predator that was the culprit behind a number of fish kills and fish diseases along the East Coast in the 1990s, researchers need
The supersensitivity to dopamine that is characteristic of schizophrenia can be caused by mutations to a wide variety of genes, rather than alterations to just two or three specific genes, says a Univ
...rget is the central nervous system (CNS), where it...ion. Scientists can now use microarray technology...proceedings published in the February issue of Alc...the effects of alcohol on what is called "gene exp...
... rat pups can tell us something about the...behavi.....Sanjay Joshi, assistant professor of mechanical ...essor of psychology Jeffrey Schank...have recorded...s with...the same basic senses and motor skills to...
Study methods, strains of Pfiesteria are both critical in determining organism's toxicity 2Study methods, strains of Pfiesteria are both critical in determining organism's toxicity 3U of T researcher links schizophrenia, gene mutations 2Alcohol's effects on gene expression in the central nervous system 2Alcohol's effects on gene expression in the central nervous system 3Alcohol's effects on gene expression in the central nervous system 4Robots that act like rats 2
... of Michigan Women's Health Program suggests that ...nsible for nearly half the 550,000 hysterectomies ...a tumors---commonly known as fibroids---are benign...e pelvic pain, abnormal uterine bleeding, excessiv...
...and upper urethral stones into tiny fragments so t...ical dose of shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) to one k...and temporarily reduce the tubular function of the...ypothesis that a high "dose" of shock waves (8000 ...
...st have developed a model for.predicting the emerg...ing the.key factors that generate drug resistance.... Medicine and lauded in an.accompanying review by ...t.sciences and medicine, looked specifically at th...
...chromosomes, as well as two.chromosomes that deter...n for.decades that Down syndrome is associated wit...romosome 21..However, scientists have yet to ident...that cause the mental and physical abnormalities a...
Gene Therapy May Suppress Uterine Fibroids 2New Model Makes It Possible To Predict Emergence Of Antiviral Drug Resistance 2New Model Makes It Possible To Predict Emergence Of Antiviral Drug Resistance 3Mouse Model Of Down Syndrome Offers Glimpse Into Role Of Specific Genes In TheDisorder 2Mouse Model Of Down Syndrome Offers Glimpse Into Role Of Specific Genes In TheDisorder 3