A new bacterial mechanism for evading the immune system

A team of scientists from the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS and Paris Diderot University has identified a new regulation mechanism that enables a pathogenic bacterium of the Streptococcus genus to rapidly adapt to its host. This study was published on January 16, 2014 in PLoS Pathogens. The mechanism in question enables the bacterium to minimize its exposure to the immune system while maintaining effective tissue colonization. This work was carried out on Streptococcus gallolyticus, an intestinal tract bacterium responsible for endocarditis and septicemia in the elderly.