Acne bacteria discovered in grapevines

Researchers discover acne bacteria in grapevines

02/22/2014

Italian researchers discovered acne bacteria in the marrow of a grapevine. This find is one of the few evidence that certain bacteria are not only transferable between humans and animals, but can also be exchanged by humans and plants. The acne bacteria in the vine named the researchers after the musician Frank Zappa.

Vine acts as a host for acne bacteria
Andrea Campisano and Omar Rota-Stabelli of the Fondazione Edmund Mach and her team discovered acne bacteria in the marrow of vines. The pathogens were found by researchers in the analysis of plant samples as they are in the journal „Molecular Biology and Evolution "report.

Thus, the acne bacteria need their plant host for survival. „Humans, like most organisms, have established a long-lasting biotic community with a variety of microbes, including pathogens and gut-associated bacteria“, the researchers write. Presumably, the acne pathogen reached the grapevine already 7,000 years ago. At that time, people started cultivating wine and could have transmitted the bacterium to the plants. There, the pathogen occupied a kind of niche.

The acne bacterium now bears the name „Propionibacterium acnes type Zappae ". „Zappae“ stands for the famous musician Frank Zappa, whose song „Jewish Princess "just ran on the radio when the researchers discovered the bacteria. (Ag)

Picture: LouPe