Microbiology Monday

This isn't a new feature or anything–it happens to be a Monday, and you're getting a round up of some interesting microbiology articles:

• There's genetic exchange between Salmonella, a food-borne pathogen, and Klebsiella, an envrionmental bacterium, inside a protozoan that tried to eat them. [Microbe; NCBI]
• A new form of the antibiotic vancomycin has been invented. This is important because vancomycin resistance is popping up in several organisms, including Enterococcus, leading to increased mortality. The only downside is that you need to do a lot of chemistry to make it (this could be expensive).
• The genetics of resistance to the antibiotics penicillin and tetracycline in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the organism that causes the STD gonorrhea, have been worked out. Since there's a link between resistance to these older antibiotics and the current frontline antibiotics, this is important. Also, in many developing countries, the older antibiotics are often the only affordable option.
• Some polio vaccination experts have reached the conclusion that it will be impossible to eradicate polio, and that the goal should be control, not eradication. Why? Some countries are so politically unstable that vaccination is not possible. Also, in impoverished countries, diarrheal diseases are so common that some children don't retain the vaccine long enough to mount an immune response.
• One researcher argues that DNA came from viruses. (also look here)
  
• The differentiation of Volvox into soma and germ lines (i.e., cells specialized for function or reproduction) might have to do with its ability to swim around.