{"id":2281,"date":"2018-02-12T14:20:07","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T22:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/how-bacteria-adapt-to-hostile-environments\/"},"modified":"2023-11-26T08:24:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-26T16:24:07","slug":"how-bacteria-adapt-to-hostile-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/how-bacteria-adapt-to-hostile-environments\/","title":{"rendered":"How bacteria adapt to hostile environments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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How bacteria adapt to hostile environments<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
\n \n February 12, 2018<\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
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Researchers used complex mathematical techniques to examine spores at the molecular level. (Image\/iStock)<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n \n \n \n\n<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\r\n\r\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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USC Viterbi researchers use computer-based models to identify the ways that spores evade attack from chemicals and radiation
\nBacteria, transformed into dormant spores, can survive millions of years in extreme environments, threatening human life in the form of food poisoning and the biological weapon anthrax. But understanding how bacteria adapt to hostile environments has largely remained a mystery \u2014 until now.
\n\"\"In a new study, USC Viterbi School of Engineering professors\u00a0Priya Vashishta<\/a>,\u00a0Rajiv K. Kalia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Aiichiro Nakano<\/a>\u00a0used computer-based models to identify mechanisms or \u201cstrategies\u201d used by bacterial spores to evade attack from extreme temperatures, chemicals and radiation.
\nUsing complex mathematical techniques to examine spores at the molecular level, the team also determined the optimal conditions for killing harmful bacteria.
\nVashishta, Kalia and Nakano have joint appointments with USC Viterbi\u2019s\u00a0Department of Computer Science<\/a>, the\u00a0Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering\u00a0and Materials Science<\/a>, and the\u00a0Department of Physics and Astronomy<\/a>\u00a0at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
\nThe coating acts as an armor protecting the spore. In this \u201cfreeze-dried,\u201d almost lifeless state, the spores wait for the right conditions to bloom into harmful bacteria.
\n\u201cImagine bacterial spores are like a seed with a hard coating that preserves the DNA machinery,\u201d said Vashishta, the director of\u00a0USC\u2019s Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations<\/a>.
\nEarlier studies have shown that wet heat sterilization can destroy disease-causing bacteria, but the mechanisms whereby spores are killed by this treatment had not been fully revealed.
\nAs such, optimizing the technique and assuring the destruction of bacterial spores with any degree of certainty has been a challenge for public health authorities and defense agencies.<\/p>\n

Breaking down bacterial defenses<\/h3>\n

Using X-ray crystallography data, the researchers first determined the key elements of a single bacterium \u2014 water, acid and a calcium ion. Then they used a supercomputer to run hundreds of thousands of simulations, controlling the percentage of acid, water and calcium, and watched what happened.
\nThe simulations revealed that depending on water concentration and temperature, the water inside the bacterial cell behaves like either solid, gel or liquid.
\n\u201cOur models showed the spores perform a kind of chemical magic trick to intentionally freeze themselves and immobilize the water in their cells,\u201d said Nakano, who also holds an appointment with the Department of Biological Sciences at USC Dornsife.
\n\u201cThe frozen cells cannot be disturbed by any radiation or chemical process, and it also protects the DNA so the spores can continue to reproduce.\u201d
\nAccording to the researchers\u2019 models, a combination of heat and moisture \u201cdefrosts\u201d the water inside the cell, returning it to a liquid form. Without this protective barrier, the spore is more easily destroyed.
\nThe computer models also allowed the researchers to determine the exact temperature and water balance needed to destroy the bacteria: between 90 to 95 degrees Celcius with a water concentration above 30 percent.
\nThese insights could be used to prevent microbial contamination on food processing equipment and limit the spread of disease in the event of a biological attack. And because the process relies on moist-heat rather than chemical processes, the bacteria shouldn\u2019t be able to develop resistance.
\nThe study appeared in\u00a0Applied Physics Letters<\/a>. The research was supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":2282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[521],"class_list":["post-2281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-mesh-strategic-partnerships"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow bacteria adapt to hostile environments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/how-bacteria-adapt-to-hostile-environments\/\" \/>\n<meta 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