Getting bacteria and yeast to talk to each other, thanks to a 'nanotranslator'.
All of you know that in nature, several cells send and receive chemical signals. This policy permits bacteria to control their action, fungi to mate and human cells to records each other of threats. This type of chemical transmission has inspired Scientists to invent their own means to link these transmission so they can give cells detail information. While few studies have observed micro or nano-scale particles which communicate with one type of cell, the use of particles to capable discussion between two individual kinds of cells has not been investigated.
Antoni Llopis-Lorente, MartÃnez-Máñez and colleagues requires to prepared a nano-scale translating system so they could send a chemical signal between members of two separate kingdoms of life something that hardly occurs in the natural world.
The group construct the nanotranslator from silica nanoparticles full with two molecules - One that reacts with glucose, and another molecule known as phleomycin. The signalling method they builded had two steps, that they tested independently then put together. First, the Scientists started a signal by exposing E. coli to lactose. The bacteria transfer the lactose into glucose, that reacted with the nano-translator. Next, this instrument free phleomycin, another messenger compound.
The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae discover the phleomycin and response by fluorescing, something they had been inherently engineered to do. The Scientists imagine several possible applications for similar nanotranslator depending transmission methods. For example, these instrument could be used to tell cells to turn off specific processes and to start on others, or to change the activity of human immune cells to treat disease, the team of Scientists says.
The authors accepted funding from the Spanish Government and the Generalitat Valenciana.