Moderation Of Pathogen-Induced Mortality: The Role Of Density In Bacillus Thuringiensis Virulence

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Veterinary
Article Date: 26 Nov 2008 - 6:00 PST

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Evolutionary biologists predict that bacterial pathogens can increase or decrease the harm they cause their hosts if this behaviour increases the likelihood that an infection will be passed on to a new host.

We explored how an insect-killing bacteria alters its virulence according to the number of infectious spores ingested by a caterpillar host.

We found evidence that virulence is prudently moderated as the density of spores increases, since many spores translates to a rapid death and a too rapid death can limit the reproduction of the bacteria in the host.

Royal Society Journal Biology Letters

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Biology Letters