Bad Bacteria and Their Harmless Kin Share, Swap Genes
Date: 18.8.2010
In the bacterial world, good guys can potentially turn into bad guys and vice versa - just by swapping genes, microbiologists at the University of Arizona have discovered.
The researchers studied bacteria belonging to the genus Neisseria. These bacteria colonize the mucous membranes of humans.
To their surprise, the researchers found no clear genetic demarcation between commensal and pathogenic Neisseria. In fact, many commensals have the same genes known to promote virulence (the capacity to cause disease) in the two pathogens.
There is evidence that many genes, including virulence genes, have been exchanged between commensals and pathogens.
By Daniel Stolte
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