Lesson plan
Microcin
Microcins are very small bacteriocins, composed of relatively few amino acids. For this reason, they are distinct from their larger protein cousins. The classic example is microcin V, of Escherichia coli. Subtilosin A is another bacteriocin from Bacillus subtilis. The peptide has a cyclized backbone and forms three cross-links between the sulphurs of Cys13, Cys7 and Cys4 and the alpha-positions of Phe22, Thr28 and Phe31. Microcins produced by commensal E. coli strains target and eliminate enteric pathogens such as Salmonella enterica by mimicking the siderophores the pathogens use for iron scavenging. Microcins also help commensal strains of E. coli outcompete pathogenic strains. BACTIBASE database is an open-access database for bacteriocins including microcins.
Article summary
Microcins are very small bacteriocins, composed of relatively few amino acids. For this reason, they are distinct from their larger protein cousins. The classic example is microcin V, of Escherichia coli. Subtilosin A is another bacteriocin from Bacillus subtilis. The peptide has a cyclized backbone and forms three cross-links between the sulphurs of Cys13, Cys7 and Cys4 and the alpha-positions of Phe22, Thr28 and Phe31. Microcins produced by commensal E. coli strains target and eliminate enteric pathogens such as Salmonella enterica by mimicking the siderophores the pathogens use for iron scavenging. Microcins also help commensal strains of E. coli outcompete pathogenic strains. BACTIBASE database is an open-access database for bacteriocins including microcins.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.