Question: whats the most intruiging bacteria you have come accross and do you think that it will change peoples lives?

Marialuisa Crosatti answered on 4 Mar 2019:

I worked and have been working with many different type of bacteria which I found extremely interesting, including:
– Helicobacter pylori that causes stomach ulcer
– Pseudomonas aeruginosa that is a major problem with people with cystic fibrosis (an hereditary disease affecting lungs) and people that are in hospital in particular for surgery, intensive care units or burns
– Escherichia coli that is a little factory and it may be used to study so many other bacteria and mechanisms
– Mycobacterium tuberculosis that causes tuberculosis
All of these bacteria are very interesting in their own way and employ very diverse survival strategies. These bacteria have a great impact on the life of people they infect but this does not mean that they have the same effect on everybody. For example, Mycobacterium tuberculosis may infect many people but only 1 in 10 will develop tuberculosis immediately. For the remaining people, this bacterium will become dormient (it is still there but it does not actively grow) and it may “wake up” months or years later or never.
On the other hand, Pseudomonas aeruginosa may adapt so easily to various type of environments and may become quickly resistant to disinfectants and antibiotics thanks to its genetic flexibility. Its DNA may mutate and acquire or lose parts of it that makes it easier to adapt. Its ability to become resistant to antibiotic may make in the future more difficult to carry out any type of surgery.