All Questions
Tagged with genetics bacteriology
33 questions
3
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1
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Post-Translational Modification in insulin production
When searching "How is insulin produced commercially" on Google, most results simply say something along the lines of "The insulin gene is inserted into a bacteria, which then express ...
- 527
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0
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194
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What is a reference strain in DNA-DNA hybridization DNA groups?
Results
DNA groups identified:
All intra-group relatedness values are shown in
Table I.
By means of reference strains, most of the DNA groups could be identified as groups described by Bouvet & ...
- 425
1
vote
0
answers
41
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Would viral diversity result in a change in the effectiveness of CRISPR systems in a population of bacteria, within a closed system?
I have here my hypothesis, does this make scientific sense? Assume this situation is occurring in a closed environment with only bacteria and bacteriophages.
The effectiveness of CRISPR/Cas9, being an ...
- 19
8
votes
1
answer
859
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Novel bacterial strains of bacteria first isolated on the International Space Station, did the space environment lead to these genetic changes?
Question
Methylobacterium ajmalii sp. nov., Isolated From the International Space Station (Bijlani et al. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, p. 534, 2021) is a thorough analysis of "novel strains&...
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0
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0
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55
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Questions regarding transformation in bacterial cells
First off, in transformation the donor DNA aligns itself with the complementary bases in the recipient DNA.
Now a "perfect" alignment of the donor DNA ( Sorry if my terminologies are ...
- 17
0
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1
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60
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Could Cyanobacteria farms help dilute pollutants in the atmosphere
If I understand correctly, roughly ~2.8 billion years ago cyanobacteria started pumping large amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere.
Using modern industrial processes could this be emulated by ...
- 113
2
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0
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43
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Measuring gene similarity in two bacteria models
I'm currently working with some computational models of bacteria. The bacterium I am considering is an Ecoli K-12 which has 139 genes. I have several models of the same bacterium with different ...
- 121
1
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1
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541
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Bacteriophages and their role in genetic editing? [closed]
I know how plasmids and restriction enzymes work to change the dna of a bacteria cell, but I do not really understand how a bacteriophage works to edit the genome of a cell. Is it related to crispr ...
- 187
1
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0
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148
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Chimera in bacteria
Would you please define me the chimera in bacteria? Some sequences are clustered as a chimera table in metagenomics analysis, I know OTU table is used for clustering bacteria based on 16S rRNA, but I ...
- 11
0
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0
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51
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Are antibiotic-resistant bacteria necessarily less virulent than their original strain?
In the absence of antibiotic treatment, is there a reduction in the average severity of disease caused by resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria compared to wild-type ones?
I would assume that ...
- 109
7
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2
answers
767
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Can an argument be made that humans are 90% bacterial?
On the blog, All about Scientist in Microword: Microbiology, I read the post We are 90% bacteria, actually, which says that humans are 90% bacterial cells.
If this is the case, then why don't we ...
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5
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1
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5k
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What is the difference between a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and a plasmid?
Is it just that a BAC is generally larger and artificially constructed? Or are there any other differences?
- 223
1
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1
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91
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Using evolution of bacteria against themselves
We know that mutations happen regularly in bacteria and also that one bacteria might get the mutation and become stronger than the others and thus survive, causing antibiotic resistance as well. Can ...
- 83
11
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2
answers
916
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Can bacteria release free DNA into their environment?
Natural transformation AKA natural competence involves the uptake of DNA into a competent bacterium (for horizontal gene transfer or as a food source). My question is about where this extracellular ...
- 11.3k
1
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2
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48
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Is it possible to merge the genomes of photosynthesizing and electron-transporting bacteria to make an electric cell?
I had an idea of making electric current from bacteria. There are some bacteria that can photosynthesize, and some others are capable of transmitting electrons through each other. Is it possible that ...
- 11
8
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2
answers
14k
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Why pick just a single bacterial transformed colony
So after bacteria have been transformed to perhaps grow up a plasmid of interest, why pick only a single bacterial colony from a selective plate for further expansion?
I understand that this is to ...
- 1,836
3
votes
1
answer
246
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Horizontal Gene Transfer
I understand the different ways bacteria can undergo horizontal gene transfer (transformation, transduction (phages), conjugation (plasmids)).
Is there an experimental method to tell how a specific ...
- 189
7
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1
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126
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Are there mechanisms that limit the amounts of time conjugation and F-plasmid transfer can happen? If yes, what are they?
Not all bacteria have acquired F-plasmids through conjugation. Some of the mechanisms for this are unsuccesful conjugation events (mechanical disruption), no transfer due to integration in bacterial ...
- 747
5
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1
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2k
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Why don't all bacteria have F-plasmids by now?
Some bacteria can undergo gene transfer by conjugation. Conjugation is a form of horizontal gene transfer, meaning from one (unrelated) bacterium to another (in contrast to vertical gene transfer, ...
- 747
3
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4
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406
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What does the gene name "lexA" stand for?
It is an important gene expressed in E. coli that represses the SOS response and also the expression of lambda lytic phase genes. UV light and damage to DNA is responsible for its breakdown and hence ...
5
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2
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457
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How to identify genes required for biofilm formation
This is just a homework question:
Q: Let’s assume that there is an unknown set of E. coli genes that are required for biofilm formation. Describe a genetic experiment you could perform to try to ...
- 326
0
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1
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115
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What is the nature of plasmids? [closed]
What are the plasmids composed of? Are they composed of genomic or non-genomic DNA?
I guess the answer is "genomic DNA" but I'm not sure.
8
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1
answer
597
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How often does bacterial transformation happen?
I have been reading:
M. Dröge, A. Pühler, W. Selbitschka, "Horizontal gene transfer among bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic habitats as assessed by microcosm and field studies", Biol. Fertil. ...
- 507
2
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0
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124
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Can two Hfr strains of E. coli conjugate?
Genetics textbooks (and some internet searching) yield abundant examples of Hfr strains conjugating with F- cells, but these sources are surprisingly silent regarding the results of an Hfr ...
- 708
1
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1
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Property of E.coli harboring F element
From Genetics by Ursula Goodenough
E.coli harboring an F element are endowed with a number of phenotypic
traits :
1.They are sensitive to infection by ssRNA phages and certain ssDNA phages.
...
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-1
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1
answer
1k
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Gene transfer between Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria?
How does transfer of genetic material occur between Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria?
- 27
4
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1
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371
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Does conjugation support gene selection?
I have already posted this on chat but haven't got any response. A recent question on group selection stimulated me to ask this here.
QUESTIONS: Why should bacteria conjugate? If we consider that a ...
- 8,621
1
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1
answer
787
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Expression of plasmid genes
Are plasmid genes always expressed? If so, then isn't a bacterium wasting it's resources in expressing genes (like antibiotic resistance) which are not required in "normal" conditions?
If not, then ...
- 8,621
8
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1
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2k
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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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2
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1
answer
140
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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 ...
- 21
9
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2
answers
2k
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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 ...
- 3,850
35
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2
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16k
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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?
- 2,808
5
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1
answer
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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+ ...
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