Genetic Bladder: Microbes Can Produce Human DNA Antecedents From Urine

Streptococcus agalactiae, a harmless interdependent bacterium found in the urogenital human body system, can utilize guaA for purine biosynthesis, which is essential as a component of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), using human urine, according to a new study from Ipe et al. (2021).

Streptococcus agalactiae (sphere-shaped bacteria) found on the surface of the human urogenital system where they can use guanine for purine biosynthesis after encountering urine. Photo from Glen Ulett — Sci-News.com, Canada.

Dr. Deepak Ipe, Dr. Matthew Sullivan, and their colleagues from Griffith University, Australia found that guaA, or the specialized gene also known as GMP synthase [glutamine-hydrolyzing] that encodes guanosine monophosphate synthetase, utilizes natural chemicals found in human urine to produce new purine molecules.

“It’s long been known how our cells make DNA, which carries the recipe for life in an encoded message,” Dr. Sullivan said while also mentioning adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine as the four chemical building blocks of human genes.

Dr. Sullivan adds that in order for bacteria to rapidly reproduce within a human system, these primarily commensal organisms need the DNA of their host, which emphasizes the essence of genetic materials in the process of microbial infection.

“It’s basically a survival strategy to colonize the urine, an environment that not many organisms can live in,” Dr. Sullivan said.

Although bacteria can make DNA from scavenged chemicals, Ipe et al. (2021) highlights that Streptococcus agalactiae has the ability to manufacture its own antecedent materials for DNA, with Dr. Sullivan further adding that this process of genetic manufacturing is apparently common among species of bacteria found in human urine.

Dr. Sullivan also emphasized the importance of understanding the essence of how bacteria found in the human body generate new genetic material in order to identify innovative ways to manage microbial growth.

“Research like this gives us new opportunities to develop alternative treatments in a world with increasing antibiotic resistance due to overuse of existing medicines. For example, we could target this pathway in efforts to design new drugs to prevent infection,” he added.

Generally, this study by Ipe et al. (2021) provides a meaningful stepping stone in the path toward achieving a deeper understanding of how microorganisms interact with humans.

The findings were published last March 1, 2021 in the ISME Journal, a Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology.

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Ipe, D.S., Sullivan, M.J., Goh, K.G.K., Hashimi, S.M., Munn, A.L., & Ulett, G.C. (2021). Conserved bacterial de novo guanine biosynthesis pathway enables microbial survival and colonization in the environmental niche of the urinary tract. ISME J (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-00934-w