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Things you want to learn, but not be tested on

Things you want to learn, but not be tested on. A review of the finer points of microbiology. Your body contains more bacterial cells than human cells! (about 10 bacterial cells for each human cell). Q) Where did the injured organelle go?. A) To the ER (endoplasmic reticulum)!.

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Things you want to learn, but not be tested on

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  1. Things you want to learn,but not be tested on A review of the finer points of microbiology

  2. Your body contains more bacterial cells than human cells! (about 10 bacterial cells for each human cell)

  3. Q) Where did the injured organelle go?

  4. A) To the ER (endoplasmic reticulum)!

  5. Craig Ventor and Synthetic Life • Mycoplasma laboratorium • Minimal Genome Project • Remove nonessential genes, left with 382 genes, which he determined to be the minimal possible genome •  Humans have approximately 23,000 genes • Goal is to synthesize bacteria that can be used for manufacturing of: • Hydrogen • Bio fuels

  6. There are 1,000 times as many bacteria in your gut than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

  7. What's a pirate's favorite amino acid?

  8. Arrrrginine!

  9. Fermentation Reaction  • Replenishes NAD+ in the absence of O2 • NAD+ required to continue glycolysis • Ethanol is a byproduct • Alcoholic beverages made from yeast fermentation of sugars  • Ethanol is toxic to yeast above 15% • Distillation required for higher concentrations

  10. This process is used to create your favorite lager!

  11. There are more microbes on one person's hand than there are entire people on the planet. 

  12. Q) How do deoxyribonucleases eat DNA? DNA

  13. A) With a replication fork!

  14. Hepatitis C • What is Hepatitis C? It's a viral disease that leads to inflammation of the liver. • The causative agent is the hepatitis C virus (HCV), a positive sense single stranded RNA virus.

  15. So what's the big deal? • The Hepatitis C Virus is a sneaky virus and can often be asymptomatic in its early phages.  • This can be problematic because if HCV remains undetected for several years, a person's liver can become permanently scarred (cirrhosis). In fact, many cases remain asymptomatic until the cirrhosis occurs and it's too late. • Long term infections of HCV can also lead to liver cancer.

  16. Detection and Treatment • HCV can be detected through several methods such as an EIA assay to detect the hepatitis C antibody or an hepatitis C RNA assay which can measure the viral load.  • Current treatments involve a combination of pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin, which are antiviral medications. • However, this treatment involves weekly injections of pegylated interferon alfa and taking ribavirin capsules twice a day. • Furthermore, the full treatment can last 24-48 weeks and can include unwanted side effects such as anemia, thinning of hair, and a decrease in white blood cell and platelet counts.

  17. The Breakthrough! • Scientists at the University of North Carolina have shown that HCV hijacks a micro RNA in the host to help its chances of survival.  • HCV has evolved to interact with the key receptor and is able to hijack the micro RNA miR-122 and alter its normal function. Binding to miR-122 stabilizes HCV's RNA genome. This is in turn allows for efficient replication and allows the virus to be maintained in the host.   • miR-122 has been shown to be conserved in vertebrates and regulates gene expression in the liver of humans. It is one of the most abundant micro RNAs present in the liver. 

  18. Microbiologists,like you, can intervene! • Several years ago, it was shown that miR-122 is necessary for HCV to replicate itself, but the mechanism was unknown. • As of late, scientists at UNC have discovered the mechanism and are experimenting with a new antiviral drug. The antiviral drug is an antagomir, which is an engineered oligonucleotide used to silence endogenous micro RNA.  • This method works because the antagomir is a synthetic RNA that is complementary to the micro RNA target and has a modification to prevent cleavage of itself. • The new antiviral drug has high hopes and has been shown to bind miR-122 and sequester it in the liver. This causes a destabilization in the viral genome of HCV and promotes its degradation.

  19. Some dentists recommend that a person's toothbrush be kept at least 2 meters away from their toilet. This is because the flushing motion of the toilet can propel microbes into the air which can then settle onto other areas such as nearby utensils. 

  20. Bibliography  Hep C Sources 1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001329/ 2. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-hepatitis-virus-survives-hijacking-liver.html

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