Mammalian peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs), similar to antimicrobial lectins, bind the bacterial cell wall and kill bacteria through an unknown mechanism. We show that PGRPs enter the ...

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are innate immunity molecules present in most invertebrate and vertebrate animals, but not in plants. Insects have up to 19 PGRPs, classified into short (S) ...

A 50-year-old mystery surrounding the existence of a cell wall in the bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis, or chlamydia, has been solved. Chlamydia is the leading cause of sexually transmitted ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Quick, can you describe your grandparents?

Researchers have discovered a widespread mechanism in bacteria that enhances the bacteria's defense against environmental threats. The discovery, which may be important for research into developing ...

In two recent studies, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Unilever have collaborated to develop computational models of bacterial cell walls that can speed up the screening of ...

There are many ways of classifying bacteria. One method is based on the cell membrane. In 1884, a bacteriologist named Christian Gram created a test that could determine if a bacterium had a thick, ...

Bacterial species, and even specific strains can be differentiated using a number of molecular techniques such as PCR, quantitative PCR, genome sequencing and mass spectrometry. But even without ...