On the fact that bacteria use cholesterol as their only carbon source
For bacteria, microorganisms also depend on various nutrients for their survival. Carbon sources are like human food, which is necessary for bacteria to live and multiply. In today's words, bacteria use cholesterol as their only carbon source, which is the main topic of biological research.
To observe the ecology of bacteria, they are often in a multi-nutrient environment. However, when the environment prompts and only cholesterol is left as a carbon source, the bacteria also have the ability to adapt. Or there are bacteria with specific metabolic pathways that can disassemble the molecular structure of cholesterol, analyze its carbon chain, and turn it into energy for growth.
Those that cover cholesterol have complex structures and contain cyclic hydrocarbons. If a bacterium wants to use it as a carbon source, it must first have the corresponding enzyme system. If an enzyme can break the bond between its rings, an enzyme can modify its side chain, so that cholesterol gradually converts into small molecules that can be used by bacteria, such as acetyl-coenzyme A, and then enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle to release energy for the physiological activities of bacteria.
And the adaptation of bacteria to this environment is not achieved overnight. Or after long-term evolution, the mutated genes gradually aggregate, and the fittest survives, so they profit from the ability to use cholesterol as the only carbon source. In this process, the changes in genes and the adjustment of metabolism are exquisite and orderly, which is a good proof of biological adaptability.
Today's scholars are exploring the mechanism of bacteria using cholesterol as the only carbon source, which is of far-reaching significance in the fields of medicine, environmental protection, etc. In medicine, it may be possible to make antibacterial agents to prevent the growth of bacteria; in environmental protection, it may be possible to use such bacteria to solve the pollution of cholesterol in the environment. Good study of this way will surely open up a new chapter in the mystery of biology, which will be used by the world.