Rare 'Gene-for-gene' Interaction Helps Bacteria Kill Their Host

Scientists have discovered that a cousin of the plague bacterium uses a single gene to out-fox insect immune defences and kill its host. In new research, scientists have found that Photorhabdus bacteria produce an antibiotic which inhibits the work of an enzyme that insects’ immune systems use to defend themselves from attack. Although such so-called gene-for-gene interactions are thought to be common in diseases, very few examples of a single gene in a pathogen targeting a single gene in an animal or human host have been identified so far. Photorhabdus is a family of bacteria that in relatively small concentrations can kill insects - between 10-100 cells of it are typically enough – but most are harmless to humans and can be used as a biological control mechanism to replace pesticide use.... Whole article "ScienceDaily":[ www.sciencedaily.com]

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