![]() Although the sensor that enables them to detect nutrients was discovered almost 50 years ago, the means of delivering the wake-up signal, and how that signal triggers bacterial revival remained a mystery. These biologically inert mini fortresses allow bacteria to wait out periods of famine and shield themselves from the ravages of extreme heat, dry spells, UV radiation, harsh chemicals, and antibiotics.įor more than a century, scientists have known that when the spores detect nutrients in their environment, they rapidly shed their protective layers and reignite their metabolic engines. To survive adverse environmental conditions, some bacteria go into dormancy and become spores, with biological processes put on hold and layers of protective armor around the cell. "How do bacteria sense changes in their environment and take action to break out of dormancy when their systems are almost completely shut down inside a protective casing?" ![]() "This discovery solves a puzzle that's more than a century old," said study senior author David Rudner, professor of microbiology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS. The team's findings, published April 28 in Science, could help inform the design of ways to prevent dangerous bacterial spores from lying dormant for months, even years, before waking up again and causing outbreaks. Once open, the channels allow electrically charged ions to flow out through the cell membrane, setting in motion the shedding of protective spore layers and the switching on of metabolic processes after years - or even centuries - of dormancy. ![]() It turns out that these sensors double as channels through the membrane and remain closed during dormancy but rapidly open when they detect nutrients.
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