Scientists watch as bacteria evolve heat resistance under stress: New details of evolutionary mechanism
Thursday, June 17, 2010 - 12:10
in Biology & Nature
Scientists in Germany report that high concentrations of the molecular "chaperone" proteins GroEL and GroES, intracellular machines for protein folding, play a critical role in increasing the maximum temperature at which E. coli bacteria can grow. Massively and permanently elevated levels of the GroE proteins were found in bacteria adapted for growth at 48.5 degrees C. The findings have implications for both fundamental evolutionary studies and biotechnology applications.