Bacterias se comunican entre si para poder evolucionar
Fuente: HispaMP3 (29 de Mayo de 2002)
Se sospechaba desde hace algún tiempo que las bacterias separadas físicamente pueden comunicarse entre si. Pero... ¿ Cómo lo hacen ?.
El "Journal of Applied Microbiology", acaba de publicar un interesante estudio que demuestra sin ningún género de dudas que dos bacterias físicamente separadas pueden comunicarse a través del aire.
Hasta ahora tan solo se había podido demostrar que las bacterias se comunicaban entre si, siempre que estuvieran en el mismo medio de cultivo, por lo que se sospechaba que había algún tipo de sustancia que hacía las funciones de mensajero.
No obstante las nuevas investigaciones han demostrado que dos bacterias de E.coli, separadas físicamente, sin compartir medio de cultivo han transferido entre ellas información sobre resistencia a los antibióticos.
La hipótesis más plausible para los investigadores es que la comunicación aérea es posible mediante el empleo de algún tipo de compuesto químico volátil. No obstante todas las posibilidades están aún abiertas.
Can Bacteria 'Talk' Through The Air? Study Says Yes
Source: Daily University Science News (http://unisci.com) 29 May 2002
This month's Journal of Applied Microbiology publishes a study demonstrating that bacteria which are physically separated can transmit information through the air.
It is well documented that bacteria can exchange messages by releasing substances into a surrounding liquid culture medium, but this new study is the first to report signaling between physically separated bacterial cells.
Professor Alan Parsons and Dr. Richard Heal of QinetiQ Ltd, Europe's largest science and technology organization, claim to have shown that physically separated colonies of bacteria can transmit signals conferring resistance to commonly used antibiotics.
The discovery is thought to have direct application to the growing problem of resistance of bacteria to antibiotics -- in particular in preventing the growth of biofilms, which often cause infection associated with surgical implants.
Professor Parsons and Dr. Heal conducted their experiments using a Petri dish divided into two compartments connected by a five-millimeter air gap between the top of the wall and the lid.
In one compartment, they placed drops of the bacterium Escherichia coli, together with antibiotics. When the other compartment was empty, the bacteria were killed by the antibiotics.
But when thriving colonies of E.coli were placed in the other compartment, the first colony of bacteria not only survived, but also multiplied. Yet, if the gap between the compartments was sealed, the bacteria in the first compartment died.
Professor Parsons and Dr. Heal concluded that the bacteria must have been responding to some kind of airborne signal from the adjacent culture, probably in the form of a volatile chemical.
Further research is still required to identify the exact nature of the signaling mechanism and to establish whether blocking of the signaling mechanism might prove a valuable weapon in combating the problem of bacterial antibiotic resistance.
The Journal of Applied Microbiology is an international peer-reviewed research journal edited by Dr. Alan Godfree of United Utilities Water plc. It publishes original research and review articles on all aspects of applied microbiology including environmental, food, agricultural, medical, pharmaceutical, veterinary, taxonomy, soil, systematics, water and biodeterioration.
The journal is published by Blackwell Publishing for the UK Society for Applied Microbiology.
(Reference: Heal, R D and Parsons, A T (2002) Novel intercellular communication system in Escherichia coli that confers antibiotic resistance between physically separated populations. Journal of Applied Microbiology 92, 1116-1122.)
[Contact: Dr. Alan Godfree]
Comentario Personal sobre esta noticia:
El cómo las bacterias se comuniquen entre sí es interesante, pero el hecho de que se comuniquen para transmitir información una a la otra de como evolucionar (adaptarse) para resistir el efecto de un antibiótico, para mi es mucho mas importante.
Además de la famosa "selección natural" como mecanismo principal para evolucionar, en el cual los mas aptos son los que consiguen reproducirse mas y por lo tanto imponerse; existe otro mecanismo para heredar cambios genéticos que es la comunicación.
En la sección de hipótesis, plantee el concepto de MacroOrganismo y una primera regla para este es que las partes que conforman al MacroOrganismo deben comunicarse entre si. La hipótesis esta cobrando fuerza.