Virulence

Type IV pili are a family of appendage protein filaments that are assembled on the surfaces of many different microorganisms, such as bacteria and archea. The wide range of diverse microorganisms within the type IV pili family indicates that there must be both a common evolutionary origin, as well as a versatile functionality (Giltner, Nguyen and Burrows 2012). The formation of type IV pili occurs when the enzyme PilD, first recognized in the bacterial species Pseudomonas aeruginosa, catalyzes…

growth of Legionella in water is amoebas and both can survive in a biofilm formation (Fig. 3) (22). When biofilm is disrupted then people potentially became sick after inhalation of bacteria-contaminated water droplets in their air environment. The virulence of LP depends upon the size of the particles in which the cells are contained (Table 1), the duration of exposure in a contaminated water environment and their site of deposition in the respiratory tract. Interaction of air and water is…

Bubonic plague, a deadly disease that is transported to humans through fleas, has been a worldwide issue from as far back as the year 1347 A.D. This disease has caused more than 200 million deaths since its first rampage in Europe. The bacteria Yersinia pestis has been researched to be the main cause of bubonic plague, but at one time there were many speculations as to the cause of this plague. Inspired by S. Scott and C. Duncan’s “Biology of plagues” and “Return of the Black Death”, George…

100 Days of Horror with Bordetella Pertussis by Isabella Theamaree Fortun Bordetella pertussis is a fimbriated Gram-negative, pleomorphic, aerobic coccobacillus. It also has a surface associated microcapsule however the role of this is unknown. Bordetella species, in general, grow best at 35° to 37° C. 1 Their growth is fastidious, and this degree of fastidiousness is inversely proportional to its rate of growth.1 Among all Bordetella species, Bordetella pertussis is the most…

across all age ranges; severe pneumonia carries a greater than 20% mortality rate3. Structurally, S. pneumoniae has a capsule to protect it from host-mediated immunity, consisting of chains of repeating oligosaccharides3. S. pneumoniae has several virulence factors, including pneumolysin,…

RESEARCH STRATEGY (a) Significance. Yersinia pestis (Yp) is a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen that is the causative agent of plague. Yp is a Category A agent defined by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as a pathogen that is high risk to public health and national security. A long term goal of NIAID is to explore the host-pathogen interaction and host response to infection with Yp, and to identify and characterize immune responses after exposure to Yp (1).…

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has many virulence factors, and can live in almost every moist environment using a wide variety of carbon sources, but it rarely causes disease. P. aeruginosa is considered a rare opportunist, due part that it cannot penetrate the skin. It can become life threatening to patients in hospitals, particularly burn victims. “In hospitals, where the most serious infections occur, Pseudomonas can be spread on the hands of healthcare workers or by equipment that gets contaminated…

behavior that only works when all the bacteria cells participate simultaneously. There are hundreds of bacteria behaviors that are carried out. The most important one for Humans is virulence. They get into us and grow. They count themselves and recognize when they have the right cell number, the bacteria launch their virulence attack at the same time so they can defeat an enormous…

Classification of the causative agent: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an Acid-fast Gram-positive bacteria History: M. tuberculosis is the leading cause of death with people that are infected with HIV. TB kills a 5000 people on a daily basis. Virulence factors of the causative agent: Mycobacterium tuberculosis enters the body then continues to the lungs. The bacteria while in the alveolar of the lungs can grow in large numbers then infect and grow pneumocytes. Pneumocytes could be either…

This study compared the changes in gene expression within wing tissue of Little Brown Myostis infected with White Nose Syndrome to bats without White Nose Syndrome. As expected, Pseudogymnoascus destructans caused significant changes in gene expression within the tissue. Inflammatory responses paired with anti-fungal host responses were triggered by the introduction of Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Necessary chemokines (Small secreted proteins that induce a certain response) were produced in…