We all know that
bacteria can travel because we notice how one person comes to class with a cold
and all of a sudden half the class is out sick. We also know that some bacteria
can literally move using their flagella or cilia depending on their shapes. New
research is saying that bacteria can travel the globe relatively quickly and
not only through air. Bacteria and most other microbes rely on their
environments and surroundings to move them about.
Researchers from labs
in UK and Switzerland used a computer model to see how far and how fast
bacteria could travel globally. They entered data about the bacteria including
their diameter sizes. They were amazed to see that even the smallest bacteria
traveled farther and faster than the larger protist-sized bacteria. They
noticed that bacteria traveled easier in their own hemisphere for example
bacteria that were released in South America reached Australia more readily
than they did toEurope. They also noticed that bacteria hitched a ride in air
currents, water currents, in and on people, and through insects or animals.
So why do we care? The
biggest question that researchers are trying to answer is: “If bacteria are so
good at travelling, why are they not all the same in every part of the world?”
There are many hypotheses that answer this question the most common one states
that bacteria can travel easily but do not settle as easily. For example
bacteria can travel from country to country but might be killed or outcompeted
when they arrive.
It interests me that
bacteria can travel far and fast but do not always survive when they are
introduced to a new environment. This adds to the diversity of bacteria, and
the reason that antibiotics are not as effective as they used to be.
Understanding bacteria and their behavior has benefits for improving human
health.
Mariah, I think this is pretty cool as well. I think it's weird how they can be so fast but wont survive. Another thing would be that they have to adapt almost immediately, making it difficult to live and thrive. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. It reminds me of the African dust we studied that carry tons of microbes across the ocean and practically drop them upon the U.S. What I really want to know though, is what purpose does traveling serve for microbes? I understand they may be looking for more resources, however, why travel so far? Do they recognize different ways of traveling? As in, do they have a preference over traveling by wind rather than animal? It's interesting to know that when microbes travel so far, they often don't survive because of other microbes already living there. It reminds me of when someone from the U.S travels overseas for the first time and gets drastically ill because their immune system isn't adapted to that environment. It's pretty crazy that microbes are responsible for doing that.
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