New Biological Weapon -  Colibactin
Channel: Science Cloud
Date: 2022-03-26

Some bacteria can trigger unexploded viral grenades in neighboring bacteria’s DNA.

Certain Escherichia coli bacteria, including some that live in human intestines, make a chemical called colibactin. That chemical awakens dormant viruses inside nearby bacteria, sometimes leading to their destruction, researchers report February 23 in Nature.


Source/Credits:
Tina Hesman Saey

CITATIONS
J.E. Silpe, et al. The bacterial toxin colibactin triggers prophage induction. Nature. Published online February 23, 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04444-3.