Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Nasty bacteria need sunlight to do their worst

08-23-2007 · EurekAlert!

Scientists find that certain types of bacteria have sunlight-sensing molecules similar to those found in plants and at least one species -- responsible for causing the flu-like disorder Brucellosis -- needs light to maximize its virulence. The work suggests an entirely new model for bacterial virulence based on light sensitivity. It turns out that many bacteria have signaling proteins that contain the same light-absorbing domain as those found in the higher plants.

Keywords: nasty, bacteria, sunlight, worst

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