Structure of a virulent pathogen revealed

(PhysOrg.com) -- Like high-profile politicians, pathogenic bacteria dispatch advance teams to make way for their arrival. But these bacterial agents don`t just secure a safe passage, as a Secret Service detail might do. Rather they are teams of molecules that bacteria inject into cells they want to colonize, sent to hijack their hosts` biochemistry to serve their master`s microbial needs. These molecules — called virulence factors — co-opt essential cell functions including the reproduction cycle and cell structure assembly, suppressing the cells` defenses against bacterial invasion and causing disease.

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