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Bacteria as pathogens

All bacteria want to survive, everywhere and at any time. Unfortunately, for them to establish a niche in our bodies, they may overcome our immune system and make us sick. Different bacteria can lead to different infections, symptoms and diseases.

Many bacterial pathogens have surprising and fascinating mechanisms to live in our bodies, grow a niche and combat our immune players. From sensing our body temperature to stealing iron from our bodies, pathogenic mechanisms can be smart and creative.

Introducing the microbiology colouring book "Coloured Bacteria from A to Z" to explore the microbial and bacterial world.

How your immune system battles harmful bacteria every day

Your immune system is constantly patrolling your body, ensuring that it stays clean and free of disease. Every single day, every hour, every minute, pathogens are pouring in, attempting to call your body their home and cause disease. But your immune system has specialised drones who bring the fight directly to the intruders. These drones are the so-called complement system. They keep bacterial pathogens at bay to ensure that we stay healthy.

Bacteria use capsules as micro-invisibility cloaks

When bacteria enter the human body, they are welcomed by our immune system that is ready to fight them off. However, some bacteria can put on invisibility cloaks that help them hide from the immune system. Thanks to this sugar coat – the so-called bacterial capsule – bacteria can sneak into our bodies, infect us and make us sick.

Bacteria wrap themselves in their swimming flagella

Bacteria swim through liquids with their flagella. Some bacteria even have two flagella at opposite ends that help them to swim through mucus and slime. This movement helps bacteria to infect the human body. Now, researchers start to better understand how these flagella work together to move the bacterium forward.

Bacteria cause caries by producing an acidic environment.

How bacteria cause caries on your teeth

Bacteria in your mouth protect your teeth from pathogenic bacteria. When you eat lots of sugars, the pathogens can fight off your friendly bacteria. The more pathogenic bacteria grow on your teeth, the more acids they produce that can cause caries and cavities. Learn about the bacterial battles in your mouths.

Invasive bacteria use attachment tools like pili and adhesins to adhere to cells

How bacteria get (too) attached

Pathogenic bacteria developed different mechanisms to attach to human host cells. However, our immune system learned to fight back, so that a constant battle between bacteria and host is happening in our bodies.

Multidrug resistant bacteria have many different ways of dealing with antibiotics

About antimicrobial resistance mechanisms

Bacteria developed different antimicrobial resistance mechanisms to get rid of antibiotics. Here, you will learn what bacteria do with antibiotics so that they don’t harm them and what superbugs are.

All bacteria want to survive, everywhere and at any time. Unfortunately, for them to establish a niche in our bodies, they may overcome our immune system and make us sick. Different bacteria can lead to different infections, symptoms and diseases.

Many bacterial pathogens have surprising and fascinating mechanisms to live in our bodies, grow a niche and combat our immune players. From sensing our body temperature to stealing iron from our bodies, pathogenic mechanisms can be smart and creative.

Introducing the microbiology colouring book "Coloured Bacteria from A to Z" to explore the microbial and bacterial world.

Learn more about the fascinating world of bacteria

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Animals Antibiotics Antimicrobial resistance Bacterial communication Bacterial interactions Bacterial membrane Bacterial movement Bacterial multicellularity Bacterial stress response Biofilms Chemotaxis Food microbiology Fungi Health Human body Immune system Microbial communities Microbial fermentation Physiology Plants Quorum sensing Secondary metabolism Short chain fatty acids Sporulation Toxins Virus

Categories

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Agrobacterium Akkermansia Anabaena Bacillus Bacteroides Bifidobacterium Blautia Burkholderia Caulobacter Chromobacterium Clostridium Deinococcus Enterococcus Escherichia Eubacterium Faecalibacterium Gemmatimonas Helicobacter Ideonella Janthinobacterium Klebsiella Lactobacillus Magnetospirillum Myxococcus Neisseria Oceanithermus Pseudomonas Ruminococcus Salmonella Serratia Staphylococcus Streptococcus Streptomyces Thiovulum Vibrio Wolbachia Xanthomonas Yersinia Zymomonas

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