Sweet Tooth Turns Achilles' Heel For Salmonella

It has been found that the food poisoning bug Salmonella, has an affiliation for glucose. This vulnerability, British scientists believe, could provide a new way to vaccinate against it.

They say that the discovery of Salmonella's sweet tooth may also lead to vaccine strains to rotect against other disease-causing bacteria, including superbugs.

About Salmonellosis
Poor hygienic practices during cooking or handling of food products can cause this distressing infection of the intestines leading to diarrhea, cramps and fever.

"This is the first time that anyone has identified the nutrients that sustain Salmonella while it is nfecting a host's body," said Dr. Arthur Thompson from the Institute of Food Research.

During infection, Salmonella bacteria immune cells engulf them in a bid to destroy them.

But the bacteria instead have a tendency to multiply, for which they must acquire nutrients.

Study Unveils Salmonella's Stealthy Attacks on Intestinal Cells
A bacterial protein called SopB plays a very important role in letting the deadly bacterium Salmonella enterica invade cells lining the intestine.

Focussing their study on glycolysis, the process by which sugars are broken down to create hemical energy, the researchers constructed Salmonella mutants unable to transport glucose nto the immune cells they occupy and unable to use glucose as food.

The mutant strains lost their ability to replicate within immune cells, which made them harmless

Scientists Discover How Salmonella Stays Fighting Fit
Researchers at University of Liverpool have shown how a single-celled organism, living freely in the environment, could be a source of Salmonella transmission to animals and humans.

"Our experiments showed that glucose is the major sugar used by Salmonella during infection," aid Thompson.

The mutant strains still stimulate the immune system, and the scientists have filed patents on hem, which could be used to develop vaccines to protect people and animals against poisoning y fully virulent Salmonella.

International Space Station Working On Salmonella Vaccine
Analysing a batch of bacteria brought back by the shuttle Discovery crew last month, scientists could soon develop a vaccine against food poisoning from salmonella bacteria.

Glycolysis occurs in most organisms, including other bacteria that occupy host cells, and thus isrupt how the bacteria metabolise glucose could be used to create vaccine strains for other athogenic bacteria, including superbugs.

The harmless strains could also be used as vaccine vectors.

Source-ANI
TAN

Sweet Tooth Turns Achilles' Heel For Salmonella - Makes a Vaccine Possible