Hello,
Few days back, Nature reported a very interesting paper which I thought would be of interest to wide scientific community. Here it goes - Bacteria can control their Temperature! Shocked ? Read on...
Most organisms, from bacteria to humans, can follow temperature gradients to an optimal temperature. Experience influences eukaryotes' preferred temperature, and, as it turns out, bacteria also adjust their temperature preference depending on growth conditions.
A study from Salman and Libchaber finally provides a physiological reason for this altered behaviour — it may help bacteria to conserve energy until better nutrient supplies become available. When Salman and Libchaber tested the thermotactic responses in E. coli at different growth stages, they observed a surprisingly sharp switch from a thermophilic to a cryophilic response as soon as the cell density crossed a critical threshold.
(Source: Victor Sourjik and Ned S. Wingreen. Turning to the cold. nature cell biology, volume 9, number9, Sept 2007)
In case you don't find the article, you can send me a request for a copy. I have it with me.
You can find the original entry at Scientific information Sharing Resource (http://sisr.blogspot.com) http://sisr.blogspot.com/2007/09/bacteria-can-control-their-temperature.html
Kind Regards,
Tarun Gupta
--
MSc Human Genomics
National Center of Human Genome Studies & Research
Panjab University
Chandigarh-India
Mob: +91-9888237906
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~Exciting Science forum http://groups.google.com/group/exciting-science
~Bioinformatics Resources: http://hotbacteria.blogspot.com
~Scientific Information Sharing Resource: http://sisr.blogspot.com
~About Me: http://hotbacteria.tripod.com
MSc Human Genomics
National Centre of Human Genome Studies and Research
Panjab University
Chandigarh-India
Mob: +91-9888237906
*************************************************
~Exciting Science forum: http://groups.google.com/group/exciting-science
~Bioinformatics Resources: http://hotbacteria.blogspot.com
~Scientific Information Sharing Resource: http://sisr.blogspot.com
~About Me: http://hotbacteria.tripod.com
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