Researchers identify the secret genetic weapon of Clostridium difficile
Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - 09:32
in Health & Medicine
A trio of researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health in Houston, have identified the location of the genes that control production of toxins that harm people infected by Clostridium difficile bacteria. The gene locus, agr1, forms part of a signaling communication system that produces a small molecule that, in turn, tells the rest of the population to turn on their toxin genes.