Vibrio

• Flesh-eating bacteria sounds like the premise of a bad horror movie, but it’s a growing – and potentially fatal – threat to people.
• In September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory alerting doctors and public health officials of an increase in flesh-eating bacteria cases that can cause serious wound infections.

What does ‘flesh-eating’ mean?

• There are several types of bacteria that can infect open wounds and cause a rare condition called necrotizing fasciitis.
• These bacteria do not merely damage the surface of the skin – they release toxins that destroy the underlying tissue, including muscles, nerves and blood vessels.
• The bacterial species group A Streptococcus, or group A strep, is the most common culprit behind necrotizing fasciitis.

How do you catch flesh-eating bacteria?

• Most infections in the U.S. occur in the warmer months, between May and October.
• People who swim, fish or wade in these bodies of water can contract the bacteria through an open wound or sore.
• Vibrio vulnificus can also get into seafood harvested from these waters, especially shellfish like oysters.

Why are flesh-eating bacteria infections rising?

• But rising ocean temperatures due to global warming are creating new habitats for this type of bacteria, which can now be found along the East Coast as far north as New York and Connecticut.
• A recent study noted that Vibrio vulnificus wound infections increased eightfold between 1988 and 2018 in the eastern U.S.
• Climate change is also fueling stronger hurricanes and storm surges, which have been associated with spikes in flesh-eating bacteria infection cases.

What are symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis? How is it treated?

• Early symptoms of an infected wound include fever, redness, intense pain or swelling at the site of injury.
• If you have these symptoms, seek medical attention without delay.
• Necrotizing fasciitis can progress quickly, producing ulcers, blisters, skin discoloration and pus.

How do I protect myself?

• People who have a fresh cut, including a new piercing or tattoo, are advised to stay out of water that could be home to Vibrio vulnificus.
• Wounds that occur while fishing, preparing seafood or swimming should be washed immediately and thoroughly with soap and water.
• This includes people taking immunosuppressive medications or those who have pre-existing conditions such as liver disease, cancer, HIV or diabetes.

• The rod-shaped bacterium named Escherichia coli, better known as E. coli, is a very common microbe residing in your gut.
• For instance, drugs like penicillin fall into a class of antibiotics that target the outer defenses of the bacteria.
• We found that while E. coli succumbs to this attack, species like Vibrio or Klebsiella can tolerate it and survive.
• A one-size-fits-all approach may have worked in the past, but embracing the true diversity of microbes could help scientists better fight the rise of antibiotic resistance.

Scientific good of E. coli

• E. coli helped reveal that bacterial chromosomes are circular and that manipulating a specific enzyme can allow scientists to easily clone parts of the bacterial genome.
• E. coli also opened doors to using a type of bacterial viruses called phages as an alternative to antibiotics.
• Widely available knowledge about and methods to study E. coli led to its prominence in academic and commercial research and drug production.
• In 2015, nearly 30% of proteins used as treatments for a wide range of diseases like hepatitis C and multiple sclerosis were derived from E. coli.

Model organism drawbacks

• E. coli’s track record has solidified its place in the lab as a model organism.
• Model organisms are nonhuman species researchers use to study biology, with the expectation that the findings can be applied to other species like humans.
• However, model organisms have their drawbacks.

ESKAPE pathogens don’t include E. coli

• While some strains of E. coli can be deadly, they are not the only worrisome pathogens today.
• ESKAPE pathogens, a group of bacteria that are highly resistant to antibiotics, pose a massive global health threat because they can quickly evolve traits that allow them to evade immune systems and available treatments.
• Our lab is studying the unique traits that allow ESKAPE pathogens to survive antibiotics – traits we would not have known about if we used only E. coli as a model organism in our research.
• With the many basics of fundamental bacterial cell and molecular biology covered thanks to E. coli, it may be time for researchers to turn toward the new pathogens wreaking havoc on society.

• The safety testing in application segment accounted for the largest share of the agricultural testing market in 2023 in terms of value.
• Safety testing of agricultural samples includes testing for targets such as toxins, pathogens, heavy metals, pesticides, GMOs, and organic contaminants.
• The rapid technology of the technology segment accounted for the highest share of the agricultural testing market in 2023 to 2028 in terms of value.
• The Asia Pacific region accounted for the fastest growing market, in terms of value, of the global agricultural testing market in 2028.

• Calysseo, a joint venture between world-leading alternative protein company Calysta and worldwide animal nutrition leader Adisseo, has announced it intends to build an alternative protein facility in Al Jubail in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in partnership with Food Caravan.
• The partnership is aiming to build a 100,000 tonne-capacity fermenter in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to produce Calystas novel protein ingredients, which require no animal or plant ingredients to produce.
• To do that, we need more sustainable protein, and to produce protein in places we are not currently able to.
• This would be our second industrial-scale plant and an important step on delivering enough sustainable protein to meet growing and pressing global demand.