A subdivision of microbiology dedicated to the study of bacteria.
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If a human takes antibiotics are all bacteria in the body killed?
From my basic understanding, antibiotics kill living things, bacteria for example.
Do the antibiotics consumed by a human-being distinguish between what they kill? Or do they just kill every bacteria ...
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What is the advantage of circular DNA in bacteria?
From what I understand, bacteria have circular DNA. What advantages does it have over linear strands like for eukaryotes?
Do there exist bacteria with more than one ring of DNA?
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What causes the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria?
I understand bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics due to selection pressures, but how do resistant bacteria process antibiotics when exposed to it, compared to non-resistant bacteria. Also, ...
13
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163 views
Why is there now only one Salmonella species?
Once upon a time, I chanced upon an old microbiology book that detailed the rather colorful world of enterobacteria. Salmonella in particular stood out, as it seemed there were a lot of species: typhi ...
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1answer
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Why does Penicillin only affect bacterial cell walls
I was quite fascinated by the feature Should Science Pull the Trigger on Antiviral Drugs—That Can Blast the Common Cold? in this month's Wired magazine.
They explain that Penicillin is effective at ...
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949 views
What is the advantage of using starter cultures for growing bacteria?
Many DNA isolation and protein expression protocols contain instructions to use a starter culture of E. coli that is then used to inoculate the main culture.
What are the advantages of using starter ...
10
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253 views
Which bacteria have the highest mutation rate?
From my reading on M. tuberculosis, I know that this organism has a pretty high mutation rate due to uncorrected sloppy replication, which leads to a high rate of development of spontaneous resistance ...
10
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1answer
115 views
Are these Gram stain substitutions acceptable?
In the context of a Gram stain on a blood smear:
Are the following acceptable substitutions and/or what differences could arise by substituting them?
Using methylene blue instead of crystal violet ...
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How long can E. coli stocks be stored at -20°C?
I'm volunteering for a biohacker lab - biocurious in Sunnyvale. The have a pretty good set of equipment - gel boxes, incubators, but they don't have a -80°C freezer yet.
I'd like to set up some ...
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114 views
Is there an equivalent to “Fields Virology” for Bacteria?
I've gotten a staggering amount of use out of my copy of Fields Virology as a general reference for "getting me up to speed" on whatever pathogen I'm currently looking at. I don't know of a similar ...
9
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202 views
Where do the bacteria within the vagina originate from?
I understand that it's feasible the bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract originate from the food we eat and air we breath, but where does this population of microbes originate from?
9
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92 views
What advantage would the initial 'donor' in horizontal gene transfer by conjugation have received?
I am struggling to think why horizontal gene transfer between bacteria would have persisted during the course of evolution as surely it puts the 'donor' at a disadvantage?
For example, consider a ...
8
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171 views
Do antibiotics attenuate immune response on subsequent exposure to same bacteria?
A healthy immune response to a bacterial infection includes "memory" to permit the body to thwart subsequent exposure to same bacteria. What are the dynamics of using antibiotics on initial exposure ...
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1answer
444 views
How do prokaryotes perform cellular respiration without membrane-bound organelles?
In order to survive, prokaryotes such as bacteria need to produce energy from food such as glucose. In eukaryotic cells, respiration is performed by mitochondria, but prokaryotic cells do not have ...
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274 views
How are antibiotic resistant bacterial infections treated?
For example, how are infections of antibiotic resistant strains of MRSA, Streptococcus, or Gonorrhea treated?
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162 views
Bacterial cell lysis - what solution to use?
I am trying to determine how quickly detergents act on bacterial cells (cell lysis). I would like to compare some detergents at difference concentrations for bacteriolytic activity. I don’t care about ...
7
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1answer
89 views
How is the exogenous DNA protected from degradation during bacterial transformation?
During transformation, a bacterium can take up DNA from its environment. A small fraction of bacterial species are known to be naturally competent, meaning that they can engage in this sort of ...
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2answers
148 views
How do infectious bacteria know when their numbers are high enough to attack a host?
When you get sick, you generally don't contract enough bacteria at once for them to succeed in battling your immune system, right? Their numbers must gradually increase in the host's body before they ...
6
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1answer
76 views
Proteins that are strongly overproduced in E. coli and S. cerevisiae?
I'm looking for some pointers to proteins that produce at really gigantic levels in E. coli and yeast (S. cerevisiae). Can anyone point to some champion proteins?
Even in inclusion bodies and non ...
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63 views
Is 1 g/l living biomass for a Biogas fermenter plausible?
A usual number for a healthy biogas fermenter is $10^9 - 10^{10}/mL$ Bacteria, 10-15% of which would be methanogenic archae. Exceptionally healthy fermenters have more total bacteria and up 25% ...
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1answer
59 views
Are there grass or fiber eating birds?
My understanding, that may be wrong, is that cellulose/fibre has little nutritional value to many animals because it's hard to break down thus making consumption inefficient. However, Ruminating ...
5
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1answer
556 views
What is the distinction between F' plasmid and R plasmid?
Is there a difference between an F' plasmid that has taken up a chromosomal gene that conveys antibiotic resistance, and an R plasmid? Is a bacterium containing an R plasmid and yet lacking an F+ ...
5
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1answer
58 views
Is there a practical upper limit to amount of nucleotides or genes in a transformed plasmid?
I'm currently working on a synthetic biology project which involves working with lots of different parts. I would ultimately like to integrate these genes by transforming a single plasmid. I've heard ...
5
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1answer
109 views
Is there a detectable amount of bacterial DNA in the blood of infected persons?
With which bacterial infection in humans has it been shown that bacterial DNA can be found in the blood?
If any is found it is likely not to be very much, and even difficult to distinguish from ...
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1answer
73 views
What effect do oligosaccharides, like those found in legumes, have on the composition of intestinal flora in humans and if so how so?
I know that intestinal flora metabolising oligosaccharides, like those found in legumes, is the cause for the well known fact that legumes cause flatulence, but does an oligosaccharide-rich intestine ...
5
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1answer
123 views
Why are pili more common in Gram negative bacteria than in Gram positive?
Although pili have been observed in some species of Gram positive bacteria, the preliminary research that I have done indicates that pili are significantly more common in Gram negative bacteria.
Is ...
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2answers
44 views
Flow cytometry issues
I'm having problems with data analysis here.
I have flow cytometry data being collected on a Fortessa, and when I import them into FlowJo 8.7, all of my fluorescence values are systematically 10X ...
5
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1answer
74 views
Mutation-immunity in Luria-Delbruck experiment
If experiments like those of Luria and Delbruck on E. coli and T1 phage are the main source of our confidence in the mutation-immunity model, is it then highly unlikely that there are other types of ...
5
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1answer
155 views
Sparking during electroporation of plasmid DNA into bacterial cells
During electroporation of bacterial cells (I work with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but I think this applies to E. coli as well), sometimes I get sparking. I've read this is due to salts present, ...
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113 views
Gas from bacteria that's not methane
Is gas produced by bacteria always mainly methane? Or, are there bacteria out there that produce some biogas composed mainly of hydrogen, natural gas, propane, butane?
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2answers
186 views
Does making yogurt from non-pasteurized milk work against possible disease bacteria?
In the past, when there was no pasteurization, could making yogurt from milk lower the chance of getting infected by bovine tuberculosis (or other diseases from infected milk)?
For example, would ...
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2answers
458 views
Why would taking antibiotics increase stamina and energy?
I often hear that people who are taking antibiotics experience wild fluctuations between feeling full of energy and completely alert but soon after feeling impossibly fatigued and sick.
Does this ...
4
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1answer
48 views
How can I save bacillus strains on filter paper without an -80 degree freezer?
I want to save my bacillus strains but I don't have access to a -80 degree freezer. What are possible alternatives?
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2answers
92 views
What are gram negative and positive bacteria?
I've just finished a course of double antibiotics for Helicobacter pylori in my stomach. I looked up H. pylori and found that it was a gram-negative bacterium. I looked up gram-negative and didn't ...
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What is a bacterial biofilm?
Bacteria produce something called a biofilm.
I have found a few definitions; some say it is a complex of live and dead bacteria and others say it is a layer on cell wall.
What is it made of?
What ...
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Differences between antibiotics and antibacterial
As medicines, what differences are between antibiotics and antibacterial? Thanks!
3
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1answer
171 views
Aren't antibiotic resistant probiotics dangerous?
Multidrug resistant probiotics are often recommended by doctors in various cases. But since bacteriae can easily exchange genes by conjugation or other means they could promote the drug resistance of ...
3
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1answer
65 views
What is the length of anaerobic biodigestion stages?
I have built an experimental portable batch biodigester to process organic garbage. A 50L drum filled half with garbage, half with water and with some cow dung added for inoculation, is connected from ...
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0answers
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Cheapest Way to Measure Germ Density
I would like to measure the surface density of Staphylococcus bacteria and Rhinoviruses (only those two, to be specific) within my home. What's the cheapest way?
The textbook procedure is to:
rub ...
2
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1answer
461 views
Why are bacteria and archaea in different domains?
As I understand it, the main difference between the Bacteria and the Eucaryota domains are that eukaryotes have a nucleus and bacteria don't. I understand that bacteria and archaebacteria have enough ...
2
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1answer
207 views
Why does ampicillin in solution turn yellow?
I have a universal tube with 10 mg mL-1 ampicillin. When I got it, it was supposed to be sterile. It was opened for approximately 20 minutes for an experiment and has since been standing around sealed ...
2
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1answer
73 views
Have there been any experiments that duplicate chromosome copies from 23*2 to 23*3 or 23*4?
Deinococcus radiodurans is an amazing bacterium with a fantastic survival rate. It can survive to high doses of radiation, in a complete vacuum and in hydrochloric acid.
How does this bacterium ...
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What would cause E. coli to change from filamentous growth to normal growth?
In my lab we've observed a phenomenon in which a culture of E. coli is found to shift from normal rod growth to filamentous growth and then back to normal rod growth again several times over the ...
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Do sulfate reducing bacteria help during the formation of the mineral dolomite in low temperature environments?
Do sulfate reducing bacteria help during the formation of the mineral dolomite in low temperature environments?
Wikipedia says
The actual role of bacteria in the low-temperature formation of
...
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1answer
46 views
Whence fecal E. coli (et al.) if swallowing it is dangerous?
I don't know much about medicine, and I know even less about microbiology, but I understand that there are organisms in the lower gastrointestinal tract (and in feces) of a human, like Escherichia ...
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1answer
26 views
What is a good Microbiology atlas for Bacteriology as online version?
I am looking for a online atlas for Bacteriology, the cost does not matter.
I have been searching SpringerLink, and Amazon but no good online version found.
What is a good atlas for Bacteriology as a ...
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Are the intestinal flora substantially different within a diverticulum of the colon?
From the Wikipedia page for the vermiform appendix:
This proposal is based on a new understanding of how the immune system supports the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria, in combination ...
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1answer
32 views
Is episome a plasmid or a virus?
A plasmid is a small DNA molecule that is physically separate from, and can replicate independently of, chromosomal DNA within a cell.
In general, in eukaryotes, episomes are closed circular DNA ...
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1answer
41 views
What are the differences between G+ and G- bacteria?
The distinction between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria is based upon the Gram staining method, that reflects the bacterial wall physical properties.
However, this classification involves ...
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How might one determine if bacteria are nitrogen fixing or not?
If you had an isolate bacteria sample how would you determine if they were nitrogen fixing?
