Bacteria Mutations In Space

"The International Space Station (ISS) is the most complex international scientific and engineering project in history and the largest structure humans have ever put into space. This high-flying satellite is a laboratory for new technologies and an observation platform for astronomical, environmental and geological research."

 Bacteria cultured and grown on the International Space Station have been found to be less affected by antibiotics and more virulent that those that were grown here on Earth. This is due to the pressure that is caused by being within a microgravity environment and having population genetics come into play tin that the stronger mutants are surviving. it's important to do tests in microgravity due to putting out astronauts in space and making sure that the environment is a safe place for them to be. That's why a lot of the research on the International Space Station includes model organisms and things like bacteria to protect us humans.

"This new gene expression data therefore provides additional evidence that the altered behavior of bacteria in space results from decreased gravity driving reduced extracellular transport of molecules. Future spaceflight experiments that examine a variety of other bacterial species under differing growth conditions could help explain changes in bacterial growth and virulence that could significantly affect people living in space."

I think that it is wonderful that we have engineered an environment for this type of genetic testing that can further our health field Simply by taking a microarray we can identify changes that occur within other organisms that we put up into a microgravity environment and then be able to monitor ourselves in space and know how long we should be exposed in space before it becomes unhealthy. I see a lot of work going to be with cancer research, studying cell growth, and studying mutants within this environment.

Original Insertion Location of HIV Virus Can Effect Its Virulence

        The HIV virus spreads by entering the human bloodstream, binding and invading human immune cells, and reprogramming the seized cells to create more HIV particles. The HIV protein integrase assists this attack on the human body by recognizing a short DNA segment and organizes the insertion of the viral DNA into its host DNA. The retroviral integrase can insert viral DNA into several places in human DNA.

        Researchers from KU Leuven, University of Leuven in Leuven, Belgium, have recently discovered how the virus selects its insertion points; the answer lies in two amino acids. First author of the study, Doctoral researcher Jonas Demeulemeester, said, "HIV integrase is made up of a chain of more than 200 amino acids folded into a structure. By modelling this structure, we found two positions in the protein that make direct contact with the DNA of the host. These two amino acids determine the integration site. This is not only the case for HIV, but also for related animal-borne viruses.
        The second part of the study consisted of manipulating the integration site choice of HIV. "We changed the specific HIV integrase amino acids for those of animal-borne viruses and found that the viral DNA integrated in the host DNA at locations where the animal-borne virus normally would have done so. We also showed that HIV integrases can vary. Sometimes different amino acids appeared in the two positions we identified. These variant viruses also integrate into the host DNA at a different site than the normal virus does," Professor Rik Gijsbers explained, summing up the second half of the study. In the end, they discovered that the disease progressed more quickly when the integration site was changed.

In this picture, the HIV protein integrase is blue and the viral DNA is red. The orange part at the bottom is the DNA of the human host.

        I have not known anybody with HIV, but I know it is a terrible illness to be diagnosed with. This discovery leaves room for new therapies and treatments to possibly be developed. This newly found integration site can be possibly manipulated, protected, or re-targeted. Researching the results of this study will be beneficial and I believe we can uncover more secrets of the HIV virus. It could lead to the reduction of the progression of HIV in a human being, or possibly even stop the disease from invading and reprogramming human cells in the first place.

Main Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141112132103.htm
Related Article: http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/hiv-protein-can-guide-viral-dna-to-opportune-host-dna-landing-site/81250595/