University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are putting the finishing touches on a new "Ants and Agriculture" display in Microbe Place, an outreach facility in the lobby of the Microbial Sciences Building. The exhibit offers an up-close view of a colony of leaf-cutter ants as they collect and carry plant material through plastic tubes leading back to their nest. Native to the tropics, these ants practice one of the oldest forms of agriculture on Earth, using bits of leaves to grow a fungus that provides their primary food source. The display was created by the UW-Madison Department of Bacteriology in partnership with a research team led by associate professor <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/faculty/currie/">Cameron Currie</a>, who studies the symbiotic relationship among the ants and antibiotic-producing microbes they use to protect their food source. For more information about Currie's work, visit <a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/17398 ">http://www.news.wisc.edu/17398 </a> Visitors can watch ants forage and carry plant material back to the colony's fungus garden and ferry waste into a dump chamber. The see-through chambers may even offer a glimpse of the queen, who occasionally surfaces from deep inside the fungal garden. When complete, the display will have two video monitors showing close-ups of the fungus garden and the foraging chamber. Those video feeds will also be streamed online. The Microbial Sciences Building is located at 1550 Linden Drive. The exhibit is just inside the doors of the Linden Drive entrance. The building is open weekdays from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Funding was provided by the Department of Bacteriology, with additional support from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment and the National Science Foundation. For more information about the display, contact the Department of Bacteriology at 608-262-2914. University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are putting the finishing touches on a new "Ants and Agriculture" display in Microbe Place, an outreach facility in the lobby of the Microbial Sciences Building. New UW-Madison 'Ants and Agriculture' exhibit opens 17407 2009-11-24T09:23:00-06:00

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Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities. <div id="story_image_1711" class="inline-content photo right" style="width: 298px;"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/story_images/0000/1711/queen_ant_garden09_s.jpg" alt=" " /> Pictured in October 2009, a leaf-cutter ant queen tends to a fungus garden in her colony, surrounded by her brood. These ants grow a fungus, which serves as the primary food source for the entire colony, using leaves the ants harvest from the rainforest. Recent research in the lab of Cameron Currie, associate professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has revealed two symbiotic bacteria in the fungus garden that fix nitrogen for these ants. Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in Neotropical ecosystems. Photo: Michael Poulsen </div> Here's a new one to add to the list: the ant farmers, like their human counterparts, depend on nitrogen-fixing bacteria to make their gardens grow. The finding, reported this week (Nov. 20) in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>, documents a previously unknown symbiosis between ants and bacteria and provides insight into how leaf-cutter ants have come to dominate the American tropics and subtropics. What's more, the work, conducted by a team led by UW-Madison bacteriologist <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/faculty/currie/">Cameron Currie</a>, identifies what is likely the primary source of terrestrial nitrogen in the tropics, a setting where nutrients are otherwise scarce. "Nitrogen is a limiting resource," says Garret Suen, a UW-Madison postdoctoral fellow and a co-author of the new study. "If you don't have it, you can't survive." Indeed, the partnership between ant and microbe permits leaf-cutters to be amazingly successful. Their underground nests, some the size of small houses, can harbor millions of inhabitants. In the Amazon forest they comprise four times more biomass than do all land animals combined. "This is the first indication of bacterial garden symbionts in the fungus-growing ant system," says Currie, a UW-Madison professor of bacteriology. <h2 class="video" style="margin-top: 0;">Video: Ants Go Marching</h2> <div class="player-div inline-content photo left" style="width: 400px;"><a id="player1" class="player plain" style="height: 255px; width: 400px;"><img src="/video/posters/ants-poster.jpg" alt="Still frame from video" width="400" /></a></div> <script>// <![CDATA[ flowPlayerEmbed('player1','/swf/flowplayer-3.1.0.swf',400,'rtmp://flashstreamer.doit.wisc.edu/univcomm/media/News','antsgomarching','/video/captions/captions-not-available.adb.xml'); // ]]></script> A critical finding in the new study, according to the Wisconsin scientist, is that the nitrogen, which is extracted from the air by the bacteria, ends up in the ants themselves and, ultimately, benefits the nitrogen-poor ecosystems where the ants thrive. The fungus-growing ants, Currie notes, are technically herbivores. They make their living by carving up foliage and carrying it back to their nests in endless columns to provide the raw material for the fungus they grow as food. "But plant-feeding insects are known to be nitrogen limited," explains Currie, "and the plant biomass nitrogen is lower than what the insects need for survival." Enter the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, two species of which were isolated in laboratory and field colonies of the ants. But merely finding the bacteria, Suen emphasizes, wasn't enough. It was necessary to prove that the ants were actually utilizing the nutrient to confirm a true mutualism. "This is important because it could be that the bacteria are fixing nitrogen for themselves and not actually benefiting the ants," says Suen. "Showing that the nitrogen fixed by the bacteria is incorporated into the ants establishes that these bacteria aren't just transient visitors." One other type of insect, the termite, has been previously shown to utilize nitrogen-fixing bacteria. And other bacteria-ant symbioses have been documented. However, the discovery of the nitrogen-fixing mutualism in ants has significant ecological implications given the dominance of ants in virtually all of the word's terrestrial ecosystems. The new work suggests that an important source of nitrogen in the American tropics and subtropics is derived through the partnership of ant and bacteria. Says Currie: "It is possible that this fixed nitrogen can have ecosystem scale impacts." The partnership with bacteria, which Currie says could extend back to the origins of the gardening ants some 50 million years ago, confers a competitive edge that has permitted the leaf-cutters to prevail in their environments. Says Suen: "Without nitrogen, there is no way these guys could achieve such large colony sizes. These ants are one of the most dominant insects in the Neotropics. The ability to have colonies with millions of ants is predicted to require a tremendous amount of nitrogen." The new study was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and the National Science Foundation. In addition to Currie and Suen, the new study was co-authored by Adrian A Pinto-Tomas now of the University of Costa Rica; Mark A. Anderson, Fiona S. T. Chu and W. Wallace Cleland of UW-Madison; and David M. Stevenson and Paul J. Weimer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Dairy Forage Research Center. Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities. Like humans, ants use bacteria to make their gardens grow 17398 2009-11-19T13:28:00-06:00

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Bacteriology professor <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/faculty/forest/">Katrina Forest</a> once considered studying architecture — and in a way she does, albeit on a very small scale. As a protein crystallographer, she studies the three-dimensional structures of bacterial proteins on an atomic level to understand how the proteins function. <div id="story_image_1633" class="inline-content photo right" style="width: 200px;"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/story_images/0000/1633/Forest_Katrina_port09_0179.jpg" alt=" " /> Forest </div> Most of her research focuses on the tiny surface protrusions called pili that bacteria use to move across surfaces and interact with other cells — including both beneficial and harmful interactions — and the molecular motor proteins that drive their movements. Wisconsin Week: What inspires you in your work? Forest: Bacteria. I am astonished by microbes and what they’ve figured out how to do. The protein we work on is the strongest biological motor ever described. Bacteria stick to things with incredible tenacity, they produce amazing bio-glues, they have structural proteins that can withstand huge forces, and they know how to speak to each other using small molecule compounds that we still don’t fully appreciate. We’re now trying to solve a lot of the world’s problems using microbes. WW: Who or what has had the most influence on your work as a scientist? KF: Sometimes I chose to do things because they were the challenging option, so I think part of the path I followed was “nobody else is doing this” or “this will be more daring.” Admittedly, sometimes it’s miserable — but in the long run it’s stimulating to stretch your brain and keep on stretching. WW: What about your work do you think surprises people the most? KF: People are amazed to learn how many processes on Earth are driven by microbes and how much of their own health is dependent on their interactions with microbes. Your immune response is largely governed by what microbes you have already reacted to, and recent research results suggest even psychological imbalances are related to signatures of your microbial flora. We have evolved over many millennia to live with these organisms, so it makes perfect sense that we’re interdependent in countless ways. The goal of my work is to get at the molecular interactions that ultimately govern these signals. WW: What outcomes do you see from your work for society? KF: I think there are potential health benefits of everything we investigate. These pili are what bacteria use to interact with each other, with us, with soil particles, and with catheters in the hospital, so understanding both the good and the bad of those interactions on a molecular level should allow us to either encourage or block them depending on the specific situation. Another outcome is a better appreciation of the solution microbes have found to the problem of how to build this motor — it’s fascinating. This is basic biology on one hand, but on the other hand, I think there’s the long-term potential for some interesting nanotechnology applications of this motor. WW: What’s the coolest thing you’ve learned? KF: The coolest moments are when all our calculations yield a protein structure or when the thermodynamics we study actually explain how the motor works. I love seeing that fundamental chemistry, physics and math lead to astonishing biology. Bacteriology professor Katrina Forest once considered studying architecture — and in a way she does, albeit on a very small scale. As a protein crystallographer, she studies the three-dimensional structures of bacterial proteins on an atomic level to understand how the proteins function. Five questions with ... Katrina Forest 17259 2009-10-21T09:53:00-05:00

Solving the world’s problems with microbes

2009-10-21T09:57:34-05:00

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Bacteria have vastly different survival abilities, says <a href="http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/people_detail.php?id=barak">Jeri Barak</a>, an assistant professor of <a href="http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/">plant pathology</a> at UW-Madison. Many species normally live in soil or water, but some of those that live in the human intestinal tract display extreme longevity outside the body. Salmonella, which causes what we sometimes call “food poisoning,” can live more than 400 days in soil. And when dried on a laboratory slide, salmonella survived for almost three years, says Barak, who studies salmonella contamination on leafy greens, a growing cause of gastrointestinal illness. However, E. coli, another resident of the intestinal tract, tends to die sooner in the environment. Many bacteria form spores — tough, durable “seeds” that can withstand extreme abuse. Spores of respiratory anthrax, like that used in the 2001 bio-terrorism attacks, can survive for many years. Environmental also conditions affect survival, Barak adds. For example, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis can be killed by full-spectrum lights, which contain ultraviolet light. In contrast, bacteria that live on plants have pigments that block ultraviolet rays, allowing them to thrive in sunlight. Finally, bacteria can form communities called “biofilms” that greatly increase their ability to survive adverse conditions. Biofilms can be a major problem on catheters and other medical devices, because measures that kill the outer layers of bacteria may not affect those located deeper inside the biofilm. Curiosities: How long can bacteria live outside humans? 16956 2009-08-10T10:54:00-05:00

2009-08-10T10:55:15-05:00

A University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriologist and evolutionary biologist is one of the country's brightest young scientific minds, according to the White House. <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/faculty/currie/">Cameron Currie</a>, associate professor of bacteriology at UW-Madison, has received the <a href="http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/pecase.htm">Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers</a>, the nation's highest honor for researchers beginning their independent careers. "It's a huge honor and very humbling," Currie says. "I'm blown away by it." Currie is one of 20 winners nominated by the National Science Foundation, and is among 100 winners tapped by nine federal agencies as up-and-comers with the potential for innovative research at the frontiers of science as well as leadership in education and outreach. His work focuses on how insects engage in beneficial associations with bacteria. "We study symbiotic associations between microbes and animals," says Currie, whose lab houses dozens of colonies of leaf-cutter ants. "We're looking at how these combinations of microbes evolve and contribute to the complexity of life." Currie discovered the ants employing helpful bacteria to derive antibiotics to help fight pathogenic fungi that attack the fungi the ants cultivate for food. The helpful bacteria are cultured and studied with an eye toward adding to our ability to fight human pathogens. As part of the Department of Energy's <a href="http://www.greatlakesbioenergy.org/">Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center</a>, Currie is also studying the microbes used by the ants to help break down plant cellulose, a key step in the production of biofuels. In the fall, Currie is expected join the rest of the Early Career Award winners for a ceremony at the White House. The winners were selected from the NSF's Faculty Early Career Development Program, which awarded five-year, $500,000 research grants in 2008 to 455 researchers who had already demonstrated success integrating research and education with the mission of their organizations. The Early Career Awards program was established in 1996 to encourage the development of young scientists and engineers. The NSF director selects finalists for the awards, which are passed on to the White House. A University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriologist and evolutionary biologist is one of the country's brightest young scientific minds, according to the White House. UW-Madison researcher wins White House science award 16891 2009-07-09T14:39:00-05:00

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When University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriologist <a href="http://www.genetics.wisc.edu/faculty/profile.php?id=356">Nancy Keller</a> and her team managed to genetically trick fungi into making metabolic byproducts that are notoriously difficult for scientists to get at, she wondered if the substances might have any clinically useful properties. After all, most natural products used for human medicines come from fungi, bacteria and plants. So Keller shipped the samples to the <a href="http://hts.wisc.edu/">Small-Molecule Screening Facility</a> (SMSF) tucked away in the <a href="http://www.cancer.wisc.edu/uwccc/index.asp">Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center</a> at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. That's where robot-assisted scientists mix chemistry and biology to study how human cells and proteins respond to chemicals that eventually may be developed into drugs. Armed with tens of thousands of chemicals, or small molecules, the robots mix tiny amounts of each with a protein or cell line of interest. Like the proverbial needle in a haystack, special instruments search for the one combination that produces a "hit" indicating a relationship worthy of further examination. Called chemical genetics, this increasingly popular way of studying cell biology complements traditional genetic approaches, says SMSF faculty supervisor <a href="http://www.mcardle.wisc.edu/faculty/bio/hoffmann_f.html">Michael Hoffmann</a>, who opened the facility six years ago. The classical strategy entails mutating genes in fruit flies or other model organisms to observe the effects, testing them later in animal and then human studies. "The Human Genome Project has given us unprecedented access to the human proteins that are made by thousands of genes," says Hoffmann, who switched the focus of his own lab at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research to chemical genetics in 2001. With Keller's permission, Hoffmann added the fungal extracts to the SMSF's new Wisconsin Discovery Library. It currently consists of some 1,000 "home-grown" natural products as well as synthetic compounds made or discovered by UW-Madison chemists who have used the facility. "We're screening these Wisconsin compounds to see if they may display biological effects that the scientists who made them might not have expected to occur," says Hoffmann. He sees it as a unique way to foster interdisciplinary drug discovery on campus and to implement the Wisconsin Idea. The growing library of locally made substances supplements the 80,000 small molecules Hoffmann and SMSF manager Noel Peters have purchased for their standard chemistry library. In the last six months alone, the chemicals have been used to screen samples from 60 UW-Madison labs. Some 80 research teams from across campus have used the SMSF services. Several from McArdle, where Hoffmann also serves as director, are investigating specific cell receptors that bind to estrogen, hoping to find a small molecule that might produce a blocking effect in a breast cancer cell line. Other UW-Madison scientists use the screening to study proteins or cells relating to diabetes, glaucoma, infectious diseases such as West Nile virus and influenza, and neuro-degenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Amped-up speed and capacity in a miniaturized system are hallmarks of the so-called "high-throughput" screening. "The work would be far too demanding and time-consuming for any traditional laboratory staff to perform on its own," says Hoffmann. "So we rely on our three robots to do the job." Last November, with support from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the SMSF increased its capabilities by purchasing an RNA interference, or RNAi, library. Instead of looking for a chemical that affects a protein, this approach uses small segments of RNA to block the synthesis, one at a time, of 18,000 different proteins in a human cell. "Combined with the high-throughput robotic screening, this gives UW-Madison scientists the ability to efficiently identify which human proteins are most relevant to the biology they are studying," Hoffmann says. But the rapid screening of large numbers of chemicals or RNAi is just one aspect of the SMSF activity, says Hoffmann. He recently hired two synthetic chemists, who are based in space in the School of Pharmacy. These scientists contribute after a hit passes re-screening and counter-screening hurdles by tweaking and purifying the compounds. And later in the process, they make larger quantities for animal testing. The synthetic chemists will soon be turning their attention to purifying some of Keller's fungal extracts. Various strains of them are showing promising activity, warranting closer examination. When University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriologist Nancy Keller and her team managed to genetically trick fungi into making metabolic byproducts that are notoriously difficult for scientists to get at, she wondered if the substances might have any clinically useful properties. Chemistry meets biology at screening center 16356 2009-02-26T11:00:00-06:00

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As the southern pine beetle moves through the forest boring tunnels inside the bark of trees, it brings with it both a helper and a competitor. The helper is a fungus that the insect plants inside the tunnels as food for its young. But also riding along is a tiny, hitchhiking mite, which likewise carries a fungus for feeding its own larvae. <div id="story_image_837" class="inline-content photo right" style="width: 370px;"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/story_images/0000/0837/beetle_flight08_s.jpg" alt="Photo of a southern pine beetle" /> A pernicious forest pest of the southern United States, the southern pine beetle is also known for its curious symbiotic relationships with microorganisms. Not only does it associate with a fungus that serves as food for its larvae, but researchers have now found that it harnesses an antibiotic-producing bacterium to protect its fungus from a competing one. The team, led by Cameron Currie, a UW-Madison bacteriology professor, and Jon Clardy, a Harvard University chemist, reported its results in the Oct. 3, 2008 issue of Science. Photo: Erich Vallery, USDA Forest Service </div> Now the picture of this peculiar, millennia-old arrangement has grown even more curious. Writing in the Oct. 3 issue of <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>, a team of researchers reports that the pine beetle harnesses a second microorganism — a bacterium known as an actinomycete — to protect its fungus from the mite's competing one. What's more, the bacterium does so by wielding an antibiotic that is brand new to science. The isolation of the novel antifungal compound — dubbed mycangimycin for the specialized compartments, or mycangia, in which the beetles carry both their fungi and bacteria — raises the intriguing possibility that other such discoveries could follow. "There are perhaps 10 million species of insects on the planet," says UW-Madison evolutionary biologist and symbiosis expert <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/faculty/currie/">Cameron Currie</a>, who led the study with Harvard University chemist Jon Clardy. "So if insects associate with actinomycetes like this more generally, then there's potentially a huge number of new places to explore." The realization couldn't come at a better time. Historically, the greatest source of antibiotics in the world has been the actinomycetes, especially members of the genus Streptomyces. But in recent years, the number of new compounds successfully isolated from these organisms — and indeed from all microbes — has dwindled, even as resistance to existing antibiotics has spread. <div id="story_image_839" class="inline-content photo left" style="width: 370px;"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/story_images/0000/0839/beetle_gallery_close_up08_s.jpg" alt="Microscopic image of bacteria assoiates of southern pine beetle" /> In this image, taken with scanning electron microscopy, two microbial associates of the southern pine beetle blanket the surface of a tiny tunnel carved by the insect in the inner bark of a tree. The knobby structures are filaments of a fungus that the beetle uses as food for its larvae, while the longer, string-like filaments are a bacterium that protects the fungus from a competing one. Image: M. Cetin Yuceer, Mississippi State University </div> Whether symbiotic associations end up being a treasure trove of new antimicrobials and other useful agents remains to be seen. But it's promising to see insects pairing up with actinomycetes. "Actinomycetes are likely very attractive in these situations because of their potent antibiotic-producing abilities," says UW-Madison graduate student, Jarrod Scott, who works with Currie. "In much the same way that we recognize the power of these microorganisms, I think other organisms, in an evolutionary sense, have also recognized their power." Currie also has good reason to suspect these interactions are widespread. In the 1990s, he was the first to discover that a fungus-farming ant, the leaf-cutter, used an actinomycete to protect its fungal crop from a parasitic mold. That got him thinking about the importance of parasites and disease in the evolution of all organisms, and how these pressures may have led many insects to team up with beneficial microbes as a defense. Beyond the leaf-cutting ants and pine beetles, one other example of this type of relationship is now established. "But it hasn't been systematically examined," says Currie. "If we actually start to look, we may find these associations to be very common." That one of the pine's most devastating enemies in the southern United States and Mexico relies so heavily on a bacterium seems incredible, but that's precisely the case for the southern pine beetle. If the beetle's fungus, Entomocorticium, is outgrown by the mite's fungal partner, Ophiostoma, the beetle larvae will starve. Holding Ophiostoma in check has therefore become the job of the actinomycete. What's interesting about the small molecule antibiotic it produces, though, is that it doesn't seem to target Ophiostoma specifically. The researchers instead suspect Entomocorticium has developed some resistance over time, says Scott, allowing it to survive the same low doses of antibiotic that wipe out its competitor. This suggests the antibiotic could have broad-spectrum activity against other fungi and parasites, a possibility the team is now investigating. And the discovery of a novel antifungal compound is especially exciting because many of these agents can serve double-duty as anticancer drugs, says Currie. But for him and Scott, the greatest outcome would be wider recognition of the crucial role microbes play in the lives of all plants and animals, not just as parasites, but frequently as partners. "Organisms like the pine beetle wouldn't be able to do what they do without microbes," says Scott. "So, we're interested in microorganisms as the basis of their success." The study's other authors are Dong-Chan Oh of Harvard, M. Cetin Yuceer of Mississippi State University and Kier Klepzig of the U.S. Forest Service. Currie's work was funded by the USDA and the National Science Foundation. As the southern pine beetle moves through the forest boring tunnels inside the bark of trees, it brings with it both a helper and a competitor. The helper is a fungus that the insect plants inside the tunnels as food for its young. But also riding along is a tiny, hitchhiking mite, which likewise carries a fungus for feeding its own larvae. Wielding microbe against microbe, beetle defends its food source 15711 2008-10-02T00:00:00-05:00

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When most people look at a tall, frosty pint of beer, they don't immediately think of science, but perhaps they should. Every keg is the product of some pretty sophisticated microbiology. <div id="story_image_789" class="inline-content photo right" style="width: 330px;"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/story_images/0000/0789/Fermentation_Lab-0749.jpg" alt="Photo of new microbrew equipment" /> Jon Roll (middle), a faculty associate in the bacteriology department, works side by side with MillerCoors pilot plant brew master Troy Rysewyk (left) and MillerCoors senior development engineer Jerry Czernicki (right) to test out the bacteriology department’s new microbrew equipment, donated by MillerCoors. Photo: Wolfgang Hoffmann<a href="mailto:photos@news.wisc.edu"></a> </div> Beer depends on the mastery of fermentation, a process whereby microscopic organisms convert raw materials into more valuable products. In the case of beer, fungi known as yeast naturally turn sugars into alcohol. To help advance that science — and train the next generation of fermentation experts — <a href="http://www.millercoors.com/AgeVerification.aspx">MillerCoors</a> has donated a complete set of pilot-scale brewing equipment to the University of Wisconsin-Madison <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/">bacteriology department</a>. The gift, worth more than $100,000, marks the beginning of an ongoing relationship between members of the university's microbiology community and experts at the MillerCoors Milwaukee brewery, and will be used to launch a new UW-Madison course on fermentation science. <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/faculty/roll/">Jon Roll</a>, a faculty associate in the bacteriology department, and Brandy Day, a senior majoring in microbiology, spent the summer learning how to use the equipment in Milwaukee, under the tutelage of Troy Rysewyk, MillerCoors pilot plant master brewer. Roll and Day are in the process of developing and testing the new course, which will draw on their interactions with Rysewyk and other MillerCoors employees to teach the industry's most advanced brewing techniques using the university's new stainless-steel, 10-gallon microbrew system. The course will be offered starting this spring. But students won't just be learning about beer, says <a href="http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/fac/joh/joh.htm">Jo Handelsman</a>, chair of the bacteriology department. "Fermentation is important because so many of our foods, drugs and industrial products come from microbial fermentation processes," she says. Without it, key pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics and human insulin — would not be available, and there would be no bread, cheese, wine and yogurt as we know them today. Among a wide range of biotechnology and food companies, explains Handelsman, there is high demand for graduates well versed in this fundamental technology. The department's new course will help educate the next generation of experts that will grow and study the microbes that are so valuable to these industries. "This is a unique collaboration and partnership that will incorporate best practices from our breweries into a program that will develop future brewing and fermentation experts and potential employees," says David Ryder, MillerCoors vice president of brewing and research. "Our company is committed to the state of Wisconsin and enhancing the great brewing tradition that exists here. This was a great way for us to give back, share our time-honored brewing techniques and fermentation science, and perhaps play a part in developing the next great brewers of MillerCoors beer." MillerCoors has donated a complete set of pilot-scale brewing equipment to the University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriology department. UW-Madison brews up a good relationship with MillerCoors 15598 2008-09-15T00:00:00-05:00

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<a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/gradstudies/GourseRichard.htm">Richard L. Gourse</a>, a professor of <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/">bacteriology</a> at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on the critical early steps of gene expression, has received a prestigious MERIT award from the <a href="http://www.nih.gov/">National Institutes of Health</a>, which provides research funding for up to 10 years. MERIT awards, short for Method to Extend Research in Time, are among the most selective research grants given by the NIH. Less than 5 percent of NIH-funded investigators are selected for the awards, which recognize researchers who have demonstrated superior competence and outstanding productivity in research endeavors of special importance or promise, according to the NIH. With a team of research staff and graduate students, Gourse studies gene expression, the process by which a cell's genes produce proteins that carry out the important functions of the cell. Because genes are responsible for determining all the characteristics of a cell, irregular gene expression can dramatically alter the fate of an organism. Gourse's research focuses on the mechanisms behind the first step of gene expression: transcription. Transcription is the transfer of genetic information found in DNA to an alternative form known as RNA, a process that must occur before proteins can be made. Understanding how this process is initiated and regulated is of fundamental importance to all biology. "It's very hard to fix a broken car if you don't know how it is supposed to work in the first place. Auto mechanics are taught how cars should perform when running correctly so that when one breaks, they can understand what they need to do to fix the problem," says Gourse. "Similarly, diseases can occur when gene expression is inappropriately initiated or regulated. If we understand how genes are transcribed under normal conditions, we will be better able to understand disease." Bacteria make excellent research subjects, says Gourse. Bacteria share the basic biochemical properties of cells from multi-cellular organisms like plants, animals, and humans. However, these single-celled organisms have very short generation times and can be produced in huge numbers. This greatly facilitates studying the complex molecular machines responsible for fundamental processes like transcription. "Studying single-cell organisms enhances our understanding of the functions of all cells, even those contained in more complex systems," says Glenn Chambliss, chair of the bacteriology department. "Dr. Gourse's research on bacterial transcription may some day aid in disease prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. We are thrilled that the NIH is recognizing and supporting his important work with a MERIT award." Richard L. Gourse, a professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on the critical early steps of gene expression, has received a prestigious MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health, which provides research funding for up to 10 years. Bacteriologist tabbed for prestigious NIH research award 13914 2007-07-05T00:00:00-05:00

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A consortium of universities, U.S. Department of Energy (<abbr title="Department of Energy">DOE</abbr>) national laboratories and businesses led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison to explore the vast potential of bioenergy was awarded one of three major new <a href="http://www.science.doe.gov/News_Information/News_Room/2007/Bioenergy_Research_Centers/index.htm">DOE bioenergy research centers</a>, it was announced today (June 26). The award, in the neighborhood of $125 million during five years, establishes the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (<abbr title="Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center">GLBRC</abbr>), where scientists and engineers will conduct basic research toward a suite of new technologies to help convert cellulosic plant biomass — cornstalks, wood chips and perennial native grasses — to sources of energy for everything from cars to electrical power plants. The other two DOE Bioenergy Research Centers are the DOE BioEnergy Research Center, led by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif. "These centers will provide the transformational science needed for bioenergy breakthroughs to advance President Bush's goal of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive with gasoline by 2012 and assist in reducing America's gasoline consumption by 20 percent in 10 years," Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman says. "The collaborations of academic, corporate and national laboratory researchers represented by these centers are truly impressive, and I am very encouraged by the potential they hold for advancing America's energy security." <div id="story_image_39" class="inline-content photo right" style="width: 370px"> <img src="/story_images/0000/0039/Casler_Mike_044.jpg?1182892165" alt="UW plant geneticist Michael Casler stands in a field of Switchgrass." /> Switchgrass, a native North American prairie plant, is pest-resistant and adaptable, holds soil well and produces high yields with little applied fertilizer. For these reasons, it has become a focal point for bioenergy research. Michael Casler, plant geneticist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is working to improve the economics of biofuel production by developing switchgrass varieties with higher yield and energy content. Photo: B. Wolfgang Hoffmann </div> "The funding of this center provides a unique opportunity for Wisconsin and the Midwest to be leaders in the process that transforms the way we produce and use energy," says <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/GradStudies/facultyListing.php?id=3">Tim Donohue</a>, the UW-Madison professor of bacteriology who, with Michigan State University (<abbr title="Michigan State University">MSU</abbr>) professor <a href="http://www.bch.msu.edu/faculty/keegstra.htm">Ken Keegstra</a>, helped orchestrate the initiative to secure the new award. The new grant, the largest formal grant in the university's history, is part of a larger <a href="http://www.wisconsinbioenergy.com/">Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative</a>, a statewide effort focused on the development of fuel and energy resources from non-food sources in ways that promote regional economic growth in the context of good environmental stewardship. "We need to develop an energy future that's good for our environment and good for our agriculture and forestry-based economies in both the short and long run," says Molly Jahn, dean of UW-Madison's <a href="http://www.cals.wisc.edu/">College of Agricultural and Life Sciences</a>. "This award from the Department of Energy will advance our ability to contribute to our energy supply in new and very exciting ways that could be fundamental for our future." The new DOE center, which will be based in Madison, will bring together scientists from Wisconsin; MSU; Lucigen, a Madison-area biotechnology company; the Pacific Northwest and Oak Ridge National Laboratories; and the University of Florida, among others. "If we are going to start using plants in significant ways beyond food, there are a lot of issues that come into play that we need to figure out," says Keegstra, who is an MSU distinguished professor of plant biology and biochemistry and molecular biology. "Sustainability, competition for food, environmental issues — our universities already have a head start in studying these from many angles. There is a tremendous compatibility between UW-Madison and MSU, and we have assembled with others a strong and exciting partnership." Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region will be "ground zero" for research efforts aimed at clearing the technological bottlenecks that prevent plant biomass from being used efficiently as a source of energy, Donohue explains. <div id="story_image_41" class="inline-content photo left" style="width: 247px"> <img src="/story_images/0000/0041/Rodrigues_Rita3497.jpg?1182892255" alt="Rita Rodrigues, working as part of the UW-Madison and U.S. Department of Agriculture team." /> Rita Rodrigues, a visiting scientist from Brazil, is part of a University of Wisconsin-Madison and U.S. Department of Agriculture team that has sequenced the genome of Pichia stipitis, a yeast that can efficiently ferment xylose. Xylose is a main component of cellulose. Difficulty fermenting it has been an obstacle to economically converting wood products and agricultural residues to biofuel. Mapping its genome is a step toward solving this problem. Photo: B. Wolfgang Hoffmann </div> "In the last 100 years, we've gone through a significant fraction of the oil it took hundreds of millions of years to create," says Donohue, "so we have to come up with some new strategies." The Great Lakes region and the American Midwest, Donohue notes, represent the third-largest economy in the world (after the U.S. as a whole and Japan), have a rich scientific and technological legacy, have ample corporate muscle and harbor one of the world's great concentrations of biomass in its agricultural and northern forest landscapes. "We have that biomass on the land in the form of cellulose already," says Donohue. "We don't have the ability to process it for energy now. Cellulose is a part of the plant we can't get to." Cellulose makes up the walls of plant cells and is the main constituent of plant tissues and fibers. It is used to make paper and textiles, but vast quantities of material containing now unusable cellulose — ranging from cornfield stubble to paper pulp waste — are readily at hand. What's more, the new center will enable research into the use of switchgrass, a native perennial that some view as an important and environmentally friendly source of cellulose for energy. The research portfolio of the DOE GLBRC will focus on breeding new varieties of biomass plants, developing new processing techniques and agents from microbes for breaking down cellulose, improving the microbial and chemical processes that convert biomass to energy products, providing an environmental and economic framework for sustaining the biomass-to-fuel pipeline, and integrating new technologies — including genomics and new computational methods — into bioenergy research. At least 12 new faculty will be hired in the area of bioenergy at UW-Madison and MSU. The proposal for the new center, according to Jahn, drew strong support from Wisconsin <abbr title="Governor">Gov.</abbr> Jim Doyle, Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, various state agencies, Congressional delegations from Wisconsin and Michigan, and Midwest businesses and utilities. UW System campuses and Wisconsin companies, Jahn notes, also stand to gain from this award, both directly and through state support for Wisconsin's energy future. "Our proposal has been brought forward by world-class scientists, and our concept for this center was judged innovative and far-reaching," says Jahn. "But we know that the support from Gov. Doyle, who is providing key leadership in the state and regionally, and state agencies including the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the Public Service Commission and the Office of Energy Independence were also critical for our success. This kind of big science is a team sport, and we have a great team based in a state poised to be a leader in innovative and sustainable renewable energy technologies." Both the new center and the larger Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative, Jahn notes, will put Wisconsin and its partners in the vanguard of bioenergy research nationally and internationally. "This is very exciting news for all of us," says Jahn. "We now have the means to provide key leadership as we shape the energy future of our country, make our economy and communities stronger, and forge new knowledge. We can't wait to get started." A consortium of universities, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories and businesses led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison to explore the vast potential of bioenergy was awarded one of three major new DOE bioenergy research centers, it was announced today (June 26). Major bioenergy initiative takes flight in Midwest 13893 2007-06-26T00:00:00-05:00

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<h2>Related information</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/bioenergy/industry.html">Industry partners bring vital applied knowledge to the <abbr title="Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center">GLBRC</abbr> project</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=2753">Gov. Doyle announces $54 Million state investment for center</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/bioenergy/donohue.html">Statement from Timothy Donohue</a>, principal investigator and professor of bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison</li> <li><a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/bioenergy/quotes.html">Quotes from leadership involved in the center</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.wisconsinbioenergy.com/">Wisconsin Bioenergy Initative</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/bioenergy/">Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center Press Kit</a></li> </ul> <h3>Audio</h3> (courtesy of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) An interview with principal investigator Tim Donohue, about the DOE grant: <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">Get the Flash Player</a> to see this player. <script> var s1 = new SWFObject("/audio/mp3player.swf", "line", "210", "20", "7"); s1.addVariable("file","http://www.uwcalscommunication.com/podcasts/timDonahueGrant.mp3"); s1.addVariable("repeat","true"); s1.addVariable("showdigits","true"); s1.addVariable("showdownload","false"); s1.addVariable("frontcolor","0xffffff"); s1.addVariable("backcolor","0xdbceaf"); s1.write("player1"); </script> An interview with Tim Donohue, about the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative: <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">Get the Flash Player</a> to see this player. <script> var s2 = new SWFObject("/audio/mp3player.swf", "line", "210", "20", "7"); s2.addVariable("file","http://www.uwcalscommunication.com/podcasts/timDonahueWBI.mp3"); s2.addVariable("repeat","true"); s2.addVariable("showdigits","true"); s2.addVariable("showdownload","false"); s2.addVariable("frontcolor","0xffffff"); s2.addVariable("backcolor","0xdbceaf"); s2.write("player2"); </script>

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The sore on Catrina Hurlburt's leg simply wouldn't heal. Complications from a 2002 car accident left Hurlburt, a borderline diabetic, with recurring cellulitis and staph infections. One of those infections developed into a troublesome open sore that, despite the use of oral antibiotics, continued to fester for nearly eight months. <div class="photoBlockRight370"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/news/images/honeybeys-t.jpg" alt="Photo of honey bees on a honeycomb" width="370" height="270" /> Experts believe that treating wounds with honey has tremendous potential for the approximately 200 million people in the world with diabetes, 15 percent of whom will develop an ulcer, usually because of impaired sensation in their feet. </div> Then Hurlburt's physician, <a href="http://outside.fammed.wisc.edu/directory/bios.php?id=4646">Jennifer Eddy</a> of UW Health's <a href="http://www.uwhealth.org/servlet/Satellite?cid=1052760041565&pagename=A_UWH_HOME%2FPage%2FUWH%2FHC%2FClinics%2FClinic&clinicID=1059070927128">Eau Claire Family Medicine Clinic</a>, suggested she try using topical honey. Within a matter of months, the sore had healed completely. "I remember thinking, holy mackerel-what a difference," says Hurlburt, who can't use topical antibiotics because of allergies. "It's a lot better than having to put oral antibiotics into your system." With funding provided by the <a href="http://wphf.med.wisc.edu/">Wisconsin Partnership Fund for Health</a> and the <a href="http://www.aafpfoundation.org">American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation</a>, Eddy is currently conducting the first randomized, double-blind controlled trial of honey for diabetic ulcers. Eddy first successfully used honey therapy a few years ago with a patient who was facing amputation after all medical options had been exhausted. Experts believe that treating wounds with honey has tremendous potential for the approximately 200 million people in the world with diabetes, 15 percent of whom will develop an ulcer, usually because of impaired sensation in their feet. Currently, every 30 seconds someone somewhere in the world undergoes amputation for a diabetic foot ulcer. In 2001, treating diabetic ulcers and amputations in U.S. patients cost $10.9 billion. "Patients like Catrina Hurlburt are a great example of the potential health care savings," explains Eddy, who is also assistant professor of family medicine at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. "Unsuccessful conventional care for ulcers can cost thousands of dollars. Therapy with honey may only cost a few hundred." Diabetics typically have poor circulation and decreased ability to fight infection. Diabetic ulcers treated with long courses of systemic antibiotics can become colonized with drug-resistant organisms-so-called "superbugs" such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Since honey fights bacteria in numerous ways, it is essentially immune to resistance. Honey's acidic pH, low water content (which effectively dehydrates bacteria), and the hydrogen peroxide secreted by its naturally-occurring enzymes make it ideal for combating organisms that have developed resistance to standard antibiotics. <div class="pullQuote" style="margin: 0px 1em 2em 0pt; float: left"> “Unsuccessful conventional care for ulcers can cost thousands of dollars. Therapy with honey may only cost a few hundred.” Jennifer Eddy, assistant professor of family medicine </div> "This is a tremendously important issue for public health," explains Eddy, adding that the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have identified bacterial resistance as one of the most important medical problems of our day. Patients in the clinical trial will receive ulcer care and treatment by an expert podiatrist. Half will be randomly assigned to receive honey, while the other half will receive a wound-care gel that has been compounded with inert components to give it the flavor and color of honey. The ulcers will be measured to see how quickly they heal, to evaluate whether honey or the standard wound gel is better for healing. If honey proves the more effective method, Eddy cautions patients against using it at home without a physician's involvement. "Unfortunately, diabetic ulcers are very complicated, and honey would only be part of the solution," she says. Successful care also requires off-loading-avoiding walking and putting weight on the sore-and the sterile removal of dead skin and bacteria from the wound. "If we can prove that honey promotes healing in diabetic ulcers, we can offer new hope for many patients," says Eddy. "Not to mention the cost benefit, and the issue of bacterial resistance. The possibilities are tremendous." To be eligible for the study, patients must be older than 18, have diabetes and a sore below their knee, and not be taking prednisone. Interested patients can call (715) 855-5683 for further information on the study or outreach opportunities. Jennifer Eddy, a physician at UW Health’s Eau Claire Family Medicine Clinic and an assistant professor of family medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, is conducting the first randomized, double-blind controlled trial of honey for diabetic ulcers. UW study tests topical honey as a treatment for diabetic ulcers 13739 2007-05-02T00:00:00-05:00

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In recent years, Madison residents have focused new attention on water-quality problems ranging from beach closings to unsightly, odoriferous blue-green algae blooms caused by an overload of phosphorus within area lakes. <div class="photoBlockRight370" style="width: 246px"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/images/McMahon_Trina_lake5_07_s.jpg" alt="Photo of McMahon" width="246" height="370" /> Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor Katherine (Trina) McMahon stands ankle-deep in the still-chilly water of Lake Mendota in April 2007. McMahon will draw on her research interests in both wastewater and freshwater to provide a unique perspective on how bacteria contribute to phosphorus cycling in eutrophied lakes, which often have severe water quality challenges such as algae blooms. Photo: Jim Beal </div> In reality, those problems began in the city more than a century ago. They originated in an era when "wastewater treatment" meant dumping largely untreated sewage back into the lakes, says <a href="http://www.engr.wisc.edu/cee/faculty/mcmahon_katherine.html">Katherine McMahon</a>, a University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor of <a href="http://www.engr.wisc.edu/cee/">civil and environmental engineering</a>. "Phosphorus is something that, once it gets into the lakes, it's very hard to get out," she says. McMahon received a prestigious $400,000 National Science Foundation CAREER award, which provides early-career support for creative projects that integrate research and education, to investigate this water-quality challenge. She will use her expertise in wastewater engineering and in biological systems to study the bacterial community in different eutrophied lakes-two in Madison and one in China-to learn more about how those bacteria affect phosphorus cycling in the lakes. In eutrophied lakes, or those contaminated with excess nutrients, phosphorus generally is trapped in the sediments at the bottom. In spring, the lake "turns over" and the phosphorus becomes a major ingredient in that giant, oxygen-rich mixing bowl. It's a recipe for an algae bloom. In summer, cooler water far below the lake surface traps phosphorus on the lake bottom, where McMahon's previous research suggests that bacterial communities release it in a biological process similar to that which is responsible for enhanced biological phosphorus removal, or EBPR, a method often used during wastewater treatment. In fact, McMahon will use new tools in molecular biology and recent research advances that apply to EBPR processes to help her develop hypotheses about how phosphorus is released into the water column by bacteria during the summer, and taken up during the spring and fall. Traditionally, limnologists who study lake phosphorus group bacteria into a single "black box," says McMahon. Conversely, she seeks to identify specific bacterial populations present within eutrophic lakes, learn how those populations respond to changing lake conditions, and learn how they work as a community to cycle phosphorus. For three years, she will collect weekly bacteria samples in multiple locations from Madison-area lakes Mendota and Wingra during ice-off seasons, as well as monthly samples when the lakes are frozen. Likewise, her collaborator, Guang Gao of the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, will sample Lake Taihu, a large, shallow lake in Jiangsu Province that supplies drinking water to 40 million people in Shanghai and surrounding cities. "We are looking at the relationship between what types of bacteria are present and the availability of phosphorus in the water," says McMahon. She and her students also will incubate water samples in the laboratory. In one experiment, they will add radioactive phosphorus that will help them track which bacteria are responsible for phosphorus recycling. Ultimately, McMahon hopes her research will contribute to a future solution to excess phosphorus in any lake. "Eutrophication of freshwater lakes is a problem everywhere in the developed world, and in many developing countries as well," she says. Working with graduate students Ashley Shade and Ryan Newton, UW-Madison Center for Biology Education Outreach Program Director Robert Bohanan, and staff in the UW-Madison Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning, McMahon will expand her current middle-school outreach activities, which include activities that inspire students to think like environmental engineers, to include inquiry-based activities based on phosphorus-driven eutrophication. In addition, she will develop a three-week summer workshop on microbes and water quality for underrepresented high school students who participate in the UW-Madison Pre-college Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (<a href="http://www.peopleprogram.wisc.edu/">PEOPLE</a>) program. UW-Madison engineer Katherine McMahon is integrating her expertise in wastewater engineering and in biological systems to study the bacterial community in different eutrophied lakes — two in Madison and one in China — to learn more about how those bacteria affect phosphorus cycling in the lakes. Resident bacteria may help clean phosphorous from lakes 13743 2007-05-02T00:00:00-05:00

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In 1928, Alexander Fleming opened the door to treating bacterial infections when he stumbled upon the first known antibiotic in a Penicillium mold growing in a discarded experiment. <div class="photoBlockRight370"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/news/images/antibioticW_Blackwell07_s.jpg" alt="Photo of petri dish with a motion 'W' in it." width="370" height="278" /> Researchers in Helen Blackwell’s lab in the department of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison demonstrated the potent antibiotic effect of a new compound by applying it in a “motion W” pattern to a dish of live Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Bacteria killed by the germ-fighting “W” appear white, while the surrounding live bacteria appear red. Photo: courtesy Helen Blackwell </div> Nearly eight decades later, chemist <a href="http://www.chem.wisc.edu/people/profiles/Blackwell.php">Helen Blackwell</a> and her research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have devised a more deliberate method to tackle a newer bacterial conundrum - resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Early tests of their tool, called a "small-molecule macroarray," have already identified four promising new compounds with preliminary antibacterial activity comparable to that of some of the most potent antibiotics currently available. Their findings are reported in the April 27 issue of the journal Chemistry and Biology. "Dr. Blackwell's research introduces a clever method for rapid screening and offers hope for the discovery of new classes of antibiotics. This is an area of critical importance as bacteria continue to develop resistance faster than scientists are able to develop new drugs to defeat them," says Kenneth M. Doxsee, program officer for the National Science Foundation's organic synthesis program. Recent rapid development of bacterial resistance against antibiotics has brought bacterial infection back into the limelight as a serious concern, Blackwell says. Virulent strains like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, often known as MRSA (pronounced "mir-sa") and once found only in hospitals, have become more common even as the available arsenal of useful drugs against them dwindles. "Strains are emerging that are resistant to all known antibiotics," she says. "This is not a problem that's going to go away - and actually it's just going to get worse. There's a sense of urgency." Such urgency is compounded by the speed at which some strains are capable of developing resistance, she adds. For example, bacteria resistant to one of the newest antibiotics, linezolid, appeared within one year of the drug's approval for use. Since bacteria can adapt to new drugs so quickly, Blackwell says the best approach is to try to stay several steps ahead of the bugs. "No one agent is going to solve this problem," she says. "We need to continue to develop new molecules all the time." To maximize their chances of finding new compounds with antibacterial activity, Blackwell's group, including graduate students Jennifer O'Neill and Joseph Stringer and former graduate student Matthew Bowman, designed a way to test large numbers of molecules quickly and efficiently. They synthesize molecules directly on a flexible, paper-like sheet, building from the bottom up by adding ingredients one at a time to sections of the sheet. The finished array has dozens of compounds arranged in a grid of dots, each about the size of a pencil eraser. They subject each array to a battery of tests, simultaneously testing the potency of each of the compounds against various strains of bacteria, including the dreaded MRSA. <div class="headshotLeft"> <img src="http://www.news.wisc.edu/news/images/Blackwell_Helen_hs06_5057_s.jpg" alt="Photo of Blackwell" width="100" height="150" /> Blackwell </div> In the end, relatively few pass muster - so far, about two percent - but the ability to synthesize and screen such large numbers of candidates should still allow them to identify large numbers of new possibilities. The whole process of building and testing each batch of 50 to 200 compounds takes less than two days. The four promising compounds identified so far appear to kill bacteria, at least in a dish, as effectively as several antibiotics currently on the market, Blackwell says, but the most exciting thing about these compounds is that they belong to families of molecules with previously unknown antibiotic potential. By tapping into new chemical families, she says, they have found substances that probably fight bacteria in novel ways - suggesting they may stave off resistance a bit longer. "These represent whole new classes of antibiotic agents," she says. Also promising is their finding that, while their most potent compounds were able to kill several clinically relevant bacterial strains, the strongest activity was against MRSA and related strains, known as Gram-positive bacteria. Finding that these compounds can kill bacteria is a good first step, but it is only one step of many on the long road to drug development, Blackwell says. For now, she will focus on understanding what makes the newly identified infection-fighters tick. "How do they work?" she asks. "What features of compounds are necessary for activity, and can we improve them?" Even subtle structural variations can mean the difference between a drug and a dud, but looking at large numbers of related molecules may help the group find clues about which features help battle the bugs. With such information, they can aim to actively tune activity through guided synthesis. With the new method, "We can gather information on how to improve them fairly quickly," Blackwell says. "Hopefully we will find new approaches for anti-bacterial therapies." The research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Shaw Scientist Award Program and the Research Corporation. In 1928, Alexander Fleming opened the door to treating bacterial infections when he stumbled upon the first known antibiotic in a Penicillium mold growing in a discarded experiment. Arming the fight against resistant bacteria 13729 2007-04-27T00:00:00-05:00

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A collaborative research project between the U.S. Forest Service <a href="http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/">Forest Products Laboratory</a> (FPL) and the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute has advanced the quest for efficient conversion of plant biomass to fuels and chemicals. "We have sequenced and assembled the complete genome of Pichia stipitis, a native xylose-fermenting yeast," says <a href="http://www.bact.wisc.edu/Gradstudies/JeffriesTom.html">Thomas Jeffries</a>, research microbiologist at FPL and a professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The results of this research project will be published in the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology in April, and the report is currently <a href="http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/index.html">available online</a>. The sequencing of P. stipitis marks an important step toward the efficient production of biofuels because the yeast can efficiently ferment xylose, a main component of plant lignocellulose. Xylose fermentation is vital to economically converting plant biomass to fuels and chemicals such as ethanol. "A better understanding of the genetic structure of this yeast allows us to determine how specific genes are used in fermentation and then reengineer them to perform other desired functions," says Jeffries. For example, Jeffries explains that the fermentation of both glucose and xylose is critical to efficient bioconversion because xylose is so abundant in hardwoods and agricultural residues. However, when glucose is present, the fermentation of xylose by P. stipitis is repressed. Using their knowledge of the genetic makeup of the yeast, researchers will be able to alter the expression of the genes so that both glucose and xylose are fermented simultaneously. This will increase the efficiency, and improve the economic viability, of the process. The U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, with its mission to conserve and extend the country's wood resources, is a partner in the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative, an effort launched by the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to accelerate the development of bioenergy resources. FPL scientists have been studying P. stipitis for 20 years and in that time have isolated and characterized several genes, developed improved strains, and recently licensed technology to a biotech firm for commercial development. "We are very proud of Tom's research and the breakthroughs he and his colleagues continue to make," says FPL Directory Chris Risbrudt. "Publication in a journal of such importance to the scientific community demonstrates the capability of FPL's researchers and our status as a world-class facility." "The genetic blueprint reported in this paper will be at the foundation of new biofuels technology that will be developed under the auspices of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative," reports Tim Donohue, professor of bacteriology. "It will have benefits in making ethanol production from plant sugars more efficient in the short term and it is likely to help develop long-term bioenergy solutions that help Wisconsin assume a position of leadership in the rapidly growing biofuels economy." A collaborative research project between the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) and the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute has advanced the quest for efficient conversion of plant biomass to fuels and chemicals. Gene sequencing advance bolsters biofuels potential 13532 2007-04-06T00:00:00-05:00 2007-03-06T00:00:00-06:00

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