Editing tool CRISPR genes will help to find new antibiotics

Date:

2019-01-13 23:15:10

Views:

3113

Rating:

1Like 0Dislike

Share:

Editing tool CRISPR genes will help to find new antibiotics Source:

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their colleagues from the University of California in San Francisco applied the tool to edit the genes to study which genes affect specific antibiotics. They plan to better understand existing antibiotics and develop new ones. Resistance of disease-causing pathogens to existing antibiotics is a growing problem which, according to estimates, could endanger millions of lives.

The Problem of antibiotic resistance

"We need to figure out a new weakness of these bacteria," says Jason Peters, who developed the system. A technique called the Mobile-CRISPRi allows scientists to carry out the screening functions of antibiotics have a wide spectrum of pathogenic bacteria.

In the process of a form of bacterial sex, scientists gave Mobile-CRISPRi from ordinary laboratory strains of various bacteria, including even the little-studied microbes that live on cheese crust. This simplicity of transfer makes the technique just a boon for scientists who study bacteria, causing diseases or, on the contrary, health-promoting.

Peters worked with Carol gross, Oren Rosenberg and other colleagues, developing Mobile-CRISPRi. This system reduces the production of protein from target genes, allowing scientists to determine how antibiotics inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms. This knowledge can help direct investigations of antibiotic resistance.

scientists was published January 7 in the journal Nature Microbiology. They took advantage of the increasingly popular molecular tool CRISPR, but in a unique way.

"Most people, when they think of NASA, think about editing genes," says Peters. "But that's not what I do".

Typically, the CRISPR system targets the gene, which cuts DNA in half. The gene can be edited, while cell regenerates damage.

But Peters and his team worked with a modified form of the CRISPR — CRISPRi. CRISPRi was designed to not allow DNA. Instead, he just sits down on DNA, blocking access of other proteins to a specific gene. The result was a reduced gene expression and reduced number of proteins that they encoded.

Scientists have shown that if you reduce the amount of protein, which aim antibiotic, bacteria become much more sensitive to lower levels of drug which indicates the relationship between gene and drug. Thus, thousands of genes can be simultaneously screened as potential targets for antibiotics, helping scientists to learn how antibiotics work and how to improve them.

To make CRISPRi cell, scientists have developed a method of system migration from conventional laboratory models of E. coli pathogenic types, which are often more difficult to study. Team Peters took advantage of one of the natural ways of exchanging DNA between bacteria, kind of bacterial sex, conjugation.

"You just mix the bacteria together and all turns out," says Peters. "The easiest thing".

Using conjugation, the team gave Peters Mobile-CRISPRi pathogens Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Staphylococcus and Listeria, among others.

"It means that now you can learn how antibiotics act directly on these pathogens," says Peters. "We'd better find out how these drugs affect different organisms, and perhaps make them better."

What do you think, what other use we can find CRISPR? Tell us in our

Recommended

Can genes create the perfect diet for you?

Can genes create the perfect diet for you?

Diet on genotype can be a way out for many, but it still has a lot of questions Don't know what to do to lose weight? DNA tests promise to help you with this. They will be able to develop the most individual diet, because for this they will use the m...

How many extraterrestrial civilizations can exist nearby?

How many extraterrestrial civilizations can exist nearby?

If aliens exist, why don't we "hear" them? In the 12th episode of Cosmos, which aired on December 14, 1980, co-author and host Carl Sagan introduced viewers to the same equation of astronomer Frank Drake. Using it, he calculated the potential number ...

Why does the most poisonous plant in the world cause severe pain?

Why does the most poisonous plant in the world cause severe pain?

The pain caused to humans by the Gimpi-gympie plant can drive him crazy Many people consider Australia a very dangerous place full of poisonous creatures. And this is a perfectly correct idea, because this continent literally wants to kill everyone w...

Comments (0)

This article has no comment, be the first!

Add comment

Related News

During the eruption of the black hole seemed kinda

During the eruption of the black hole seemed kinda "light echo"

We tend to think that black holes consume all the matter around you — but in fact they are not only , but also can throw out almost as much as they get. Sometimes they seem absolutely crazy. Not long ago, astronomers noticed a bla...

What's the worst pain and suffering?

What's the worst pain and suffering?

Some say that life is pain. But they are optimists. In fact, life is not pain, that pain, plural: teeth pain, lower back pain, the pain of parting, the pain of loss, the pain of dissonance, stomach pain and sore throat, pain fatig...

Scientists may for the first time saw the birth of a black hole

Scientists may for the first time saw the birth of a black hole

the Astronomers could for the first time witness the transformation of a star into a black hole or a neutron star, according to the portal Space.com. The signal is very powerful emission of radiation, jokingly nicknamed by the sci...

The opinion of a venture capitalist: the AI will replace 40% of the world's workers for 15 years

The opinion of a venture capitalist: the AI will replace 40% of the world's workers for 15 years

According to one of the leading experts in the field of artificial intelligence, after 15 years, 40% of the work in the world will be performed by the machines. Kai-Fu Lee, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence and Chi...

Scientists: Use black holes for space travel, but only with caution

Scientists: Use black holes for space travel, but only with caution

One of the most interesting themes in modern science fiction is the concept of using black holes as portals to another universe, time or dimension. Many astrophysicists claim that in these terms is simply impossible. However, a gr...

#CES | IBM introduced its first quantum computer mass production

#CES | IBM introduced its first quantum computer mass production

IBM introduced its first commercial quantum computer for use outside the laboratory. 20-Cubana the system combines in one box the quantum and classical computing components needed to use these machines for research and business ap...

In the future you will walk to the store for food, and the food from the store to you

In the future you will walk to the store for food, and the food from the store to you

Know what the problem is with the view of the future of food? That almost all forecasts are incorrect. Where, for example, all these cows the size of dogs that need to graze in my backyard? Where the food is in pill form? Despite ...

A new mechanism of activation of the immune system to fight cancer

A new mechanism of activation of the immune system to fight cancer

Our immune system is designed in an interesting way. On the one hand, it can overcome almost any infectious agent. On the other hand, the immune system very often does not "see" any immediate danger. Something like this happens wi...

Management of large telescopes want to charge small satellites

Management of large telescopes want to charge small satellites

Not so long ago in resignation was sent to the space telescope "Kepler", which scientists have confirmed the existence of thousands of exoplanets. His successor, TESS goes to work instead of "Kepler" and is going to find more cele...

We now have movable lunar Rover on the dark side of the moon

We now have movable lunar Rover on the dark side of the moon

4 Jan Chinese Rover "Jade rabbit-2" touched the soft, furry surface of the moon, after slowly slid on the track from the platform of the lander "Chang'e-4". The lunar Rover was deployed in about 10 hours after landing of the space...

Roundworms helped to open a new mechanism for the renewal of youth

Roundworms helped to open a new mechanism for the renewal of youth

Aging can be viewed as a natural process or as a logical development of an organism during its life cycle. However, mankind throughout its history tried to find the "medicine of eternal youth" or at least, as much as possible (as ...

What is the

What is the "dark side of the moon"? It is really dark?

in short, "the dark side of the moon" is an invalid name error. Even though it sounds cool. But this is a mistake. If we assume that people are not talking about one of the albums of Pink Floyd, "dark side of the moon" refers to i...

AI will create millions of times more jobs than it will destroy

AI will create millions of times more jobs than it will destroy

Over the past few years artificial intelligence has developed so quickly that now not a month goes by without a decent lighting breakthrough in the field of AI. In a variety of areas such as speech translation, medical diagnosis a...

Solar energy is produced directly from space. Is this even possible?

Solar energy is produced directly from space. Is this even possible?

More than seventy years ago, in 1941, Isaac Asimov wrote a story in which the sun's energy passed through the microwave rays to a neighbouring planet with space station. Years passed, and today scientists are trying to turn this s...

How nanomaterials will help in the fight against tumors?

How nanomaterials will help in the fight against tumors?

Recent studies in the field of cancer treatment indicate that anticancer therapy is much more effective in the case where the death of cancer cells is not caused by the action of a drug, and occurs due to the so-called immunogenic...

The fight against air pollution in China has any dangerous side effect

The fight against air pollution in China has any dangerous side effect

Thousands of factories around the world every day pollute the air of the planet with harmful substances, which reduce the duration of life of the people. It is believed that this problem is particularly relevant in China — which i...

Found a way to turn thoughts into oral speech. To say this is not necessarily

Found a way to turn thoughts into oral speech. To say this is not necessarily

Paralysis — quite a scary condition in which part if I may say so, "physiological" functions of the person becomes uncontrollable despite the fact that at the level of the Central nervous system may be in order. The treatmen...

Scientists drilled a wide hole to explore

Scientists drilled a wide hole to explore "lost" Antarctic lake

At the beginning of December it became known about the new mission team SALSA, which studies isolated lakes hidden beneath the ice of Antarctica. Scientists were determined , leading to a previously unexplored lake Mercer, discove...

Why do scientists put live fish in tube c augmented reality?

Why do scientists put live fish in tube c augmented reality?

Virtual and augmented reality — is not only a good interactive tool for creating entertaining content, but also a way to do some research, which was not possible previously. For example, recently, scientists from the Technol...

Mutation of only one gene made people tireless runners

Mutation of only one gene made people tireless runners

About two to three million years ago first Primate moved from forest to Savannah. He grew longer legs, more muscle and a foot wide. Then he developed sweat glands that enabled him to cool down under the scorching African sun. Acco...