Saturday 9 May 2009

Negotiate with bacteria

Based on the report of the WHO (World Health Organization), an organization under the United Nations that concern with health problems, until now one of the largest disease cause of death worldwide is the disease infection. As we know, drugs that widely used to eradicate the causes of bacterial infection are antibiotics. Initially, the use of antibiotic drugs has shown progress in the efforts of disease infection, however that continue used cause various problems. This is because antibiotics can cause side effects that can harm the human body especially if the use of the dose that is not exactly cause the bacteria often become resistant. To solve the problem from the nature of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, microbiology experts as compete with the bacteria to compete in the creation and innovation. Since microbiology experts to find new classes of antibiotics, the bacteria also develop the capacity defense (resistance) through a delay mechanism for the genetic change (mutation). This cycle continues until this time, a result of disease infection and the more difficult to overcome the war against disease infection is still difficult to predict when the end will be if only relying on antibiotics ammunition.

As the nature of spread of bacteria resistance to antibiotics, experts continue to microbiology research and development to explore the steps that a breakthrough has changed the approach "friendship". One approach is based quorum sensing is to understand how bacteria communicate with each other and coordinate in the expression. In details, this approach based discovery by the bacteria Vibrio harveyi that is usually found in the cause of disease only after establishing a community (colony) and mutually communicate with each other with the language bacteria (auto inducer, AI). In the normal situation where the amount of Vibrio harveyi under the quorum as saprofite only and does not cause disease. So also with the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in normal conditions it can live together with each other without the cell with the wet nurse. But at the time due to high cells density of communication-intensive, it is able to make biofilm and damage the body's immune system. As a result the human body easily disease.



This unique phenomenon unique in the bacteria is not different from the behavior of human beings in daily life in the community. As an illustration, a subset of a large mass in humans can be used to express something that is constructive (building) or the damage. In addition, the choir or a group of people can also express a harmonious choir. Some people can also work together to build a house of worship, village roads, irrigation channel or bridge. In a demonstration, a large amount of mass is able to break down the iron fences and solid walls in the House of Representatives building. A number of mass can also misbehave and judge their self. They beat up a member of the Armed Forces that the action of theft of livestock owned. They also beat the pickpocket and thief chicken roll. In fact, the behavior misbehave demonstrator, judge yourself against the main perpetrators and criminal acts of harmonious expression of the choir may not be carried out if there alone. Illustration shows that the expression of human behavior and more influenced by the group of people and environment around. Included in a decision process often required a number of people who present to achieve quorum so that the decisions taken are considered valid and binding.

Behavior and expression that depends on the presence of a number of members (quorum) is not only possessed by humans and animals that make community but also have become routine activities bacteria for a long time. May be among us who have asked, whether the bacteria may be a communication such as the members of the House of Representatives discussion and making a decision to meet quorum. The answer is yes, and this is the phenomenon that has been imbue microbiology experts to be more deep bacterial communication design and strategy of war is more camaraderie in the fight against infection diseases. Facts have proved that the development of new antibiotics that can not guarantee there will be no more pathogenic bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Therefore the approach should be developed in the long term and more friendly. By understanding how bacteria communicate and coordinate, then we hope to find a way control the bacteria that are not always based on antibiotics, but the approach to the negotiations to prevent the occurrence of mass collecting bacteria and disrupt bacterial communication. With this approach, the negotiations do not bombard us with the bacteria that kill shot, but let the bacteria live in close proximity during the activity not spread disease.

By understanding the mechanisms of language and communication in bacteria, the experts could focus on microbiology research to find how to prevent bacterial communication. Retardation bacterial communication can be done with the use of natural extracts from medicinal plants, endophite microbes (microbes that live in the network plants), and compound metabolite from the sea alga. Communication between the bacteria will not occur if the compound of anti-quorum sensing is able to disable the use of AHL disentangle density and chemical signals used by bacteria to communicate.

It has no patience to see the action of anti-quorum sensing resulted by microbiology experts in negotiating with the bacteria. Success of the negotiation with the bacteria of the promise that our life to be more beautiful and to be more special. Hopefully…

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