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Posted: 14th January 2015

Scientists discover how rare amino acid influences E.coli
Minced beef
Eating contaminated food is the most common cause of the E.coli 0157 infection.
Work provides new insights into the infection process

Research by the University of Glasgow has revealed how a rare amino-acid in humans influences the behaviour of the bacteria, E.coli.

The finding opens up the possibility of altering the diet to increase levels of D-Serine, an amino acid produced in the brain, to prevent, or even treat, infection caused by the strain E.coli 0157.

E.coli 0157 is one of the most well-known strains of E.Coli which can cause illness. It is typically acquired via contaminated food and can cause severe diarrhea and kidney damage.

The 0157 strain only infects the gut, so scientists at the University of Glasgow wanted to know what stopped it from spreading to other parts of the body.

Led by Dr Andrew Roe and PhD student James Connolly of the Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, the team analysed the genome sequence of 1,500 strains of E.coli. Their aim was to discover how genes of the bug, which enable it to attach to and infect a host, responded to varying concentrations of D-serine, an amino-acid produced in the brain where it plays a role in nerve signalling.

They found that E.coli 0157 is unable to attach itself to host tissue in high concentrations of D-Serine. Other strains, such as those that cause meningitis, thrive in the present of amino aside.

Dr Andrew Roe, senior lecturer, said: “This work provides new insights into the infection process with the aim of developing compounds that block such bugs from attaching to the host.

“With many strains of E. coli developing resistance to traditional antibiotics, such approaches are urgently needed.

“If we can disarm such bacteria rather than killing them it puts less pressure on the bacteria to evolve into something that is resistant to treatment.”

The study was funded by the Medical Research Council and has been published in the ISME journal.




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