The major development relevant to the selected news story is the super-power ability of colibactin and how it contributes to the destruction of other cells. The scientist who contributed to the current topic research was Emily Balskus, who discovered that in the presence of some gut bacteria, there exist some specific microbes. These microorganisms may re-awaken or re-animate some dormant viruses that lurk in other microbes (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2022). The article shows the cryptic molecule, colibactin, serves as a catalyst but is not directly involved in how dormant viruses within the cell can be re-awakened. The impact of the re-awakening unleashes a full range of infections with the potential to destroy the virus that carries cells. The responsible cryptic molecule, colibactin, summons killer viruses from their dormant state and generates noxious compounds that facilitate the attacks. In summary, Balskus shows that while bacteria contain a different range of chemicals, the potential harm of many of them is unknown (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2022). Based on new research developments, the latest suggestions are that one of the compounds associated with cancer becomes a bizarre weapon against microbes.
Previoulsy, the chemical impact of colibactin was associated with the development and spread of colorectal cancer. However, even with the damages the chemicals subjected to human DNA, it remained challenging to establish the connection between the molecule’s chemical and health complications (Slipe et al., 2022). This development impacted current knowledge by the data, for example, which confirms that damage to DNA may serve even more than just a lethal weapon (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2022). The role of research on the new development of the molecule’s impact on the human body facilitated an understanding that due to the presence of the colibactin molecule, there were genetic changes triggered by viral re-awakening within the molecules (Tripathi & Bruner, 2021). The danger of the re-awakening came from the knowledge that while colibactin was responsible for unleashing full-blown infections, the molecule only served as catalysis in how the infections developed and spread.
References
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. (2022). How some gut microbes awaken ‘zombie’ viruses in their neighbors. Science Daily. Web.
Slipe, J. E., Wong, J. W. H., Owen, S. V., Baym, M., & Balskus, E. P. (2022). The bacterial
toxin colibactin triggers prophage induction. Nature, 603(7900), 315-320. Web.
Tripathi, P., & Bruner, S. D. (2021). Structural basis for the interactions of the colibactin resistance gene product ClbS with DNA. Biochemistry, 60, 1619–1625. Web.