In a piece of work carried out by the Carbohydrate Metabolism Research Team of the Institute of Agrobiotechnology (a center jointly owned by the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre, the Spanish National Scientific Research Council-CSIC, and the Government of Navarre), the discovery has been made of the way in which the glgS gene (now renamed as the “surface composition regulator”, scoR) acts in bacteria and how the mechanisms involved in bacterial infection can be altered by manipulating this gene, which indirectly affects glycogen production. The finding has been protected through the application for a patent and the exploiting of it is now pending a response from institutions or companies prepared to develop it. Thanks to this discovery, the researchers received the top prize in the 9th International Medical Congress in the category of “Genetics and Molecular Biology” held in Warsaw recently. As Dr. Javier Pozueta, director of the Carbohydrate Metabolism Research Team that carried out the work, explained, "We can say that we may have found an additional way of combating bacterial infections and contamination by encouraging the formation of glycogen in bacteria. Now we know that by altering the glycogen-producing machinery, we can in turn alter the capacity of the bacteria to move, stick to a cell or to the surfaces of tubes, catheters, etc.” The 9th International Medical Congress held in Warsaw from 9 to 12 May, 2013, drew 1,400 researchers from all over the world and 700 pieces of work were presented. The researcher Dr. Mehdi Rahimpour attended on behalf of the research team of the Institute of Agrobiotechnology (IdAB). Together with Dr Manuel Montero, he was the main architect of the winning piece of research. The research was published online on March 28, 2013 in the Biochemical Journal and is based on the Ph.D.Login Or Register To Read Full Story