Question

Barney, in line at the dining commons, holds out his tray as Stella heaps on more and more "leftover casserole." As it turns out, the casserole is a little too "leftover" and contains bacteria that produce a toxin that acts as a calcium chelator inside Barney's skeletal muscle cells (look up the definition of chelator to answer this question). How might Barney's EMG change after ingestion of this toxin? Why?

Answer 1

A calcium-chelating toxin would likely weaken or eliminate Barney's EMG signal due to impaired calcium-dependent muscle contraction, potentially causing muscle weakness or paralysis.

Step-by-step explanation:

If Barney ingests a toxin that acts as a calcium chelator within his skeletal muscle cells, it would likely affect his electromyography (EMG) readings. A chelator is a substance that binds to metal ions (in this case, calcium) and prevents them from participating in normal biochemical processes. Since calcium ions play a crucial role in muscle contraction, by initiating the interaction between actin and myosin filaments, a toxin that chelates calcium could prevent muscle contraction. This would result in decreased muscle action potentials, leading to a weaker or absent EMG signal. Subsequently, Barney might experience muscle weakness or paralysis.

Examining other bacteria-related toxins, such as those produced by Salmonella and E. coli, we observe that they can have harmful effects on human health, like inhibiting protein synthesis or preventing phagosome-lysosome fusion, leading to severe gastrointestinal illnesses. Different bacteria produce various toxins that have distinct mechanisms and manifest in symptoms ranging from food poisoning to paralysis, further illustrating the potential impact of the hypothetical casserole's contamination.