Bacterium uses toxin to kill insects
During infection insect-killing bacteria typically release toxins to slay their hosts. The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens, for example, pumps insect larvae full of the lethal ‘Makes caterpillars floppy 1’ (Mcf1) toxin, leading them to first become droopy and then dead. However, it has so far been a mystery how Mcf1 unfolds its devastating effect. Researchers at the […]
A FEW GENETIC TWEAKS MAY HELP CORALS SURVIVE CLIMATE CHANGE
Like an unhappy landlord, coral kicks out its tenants—symbiotic algae that live in its mineral skeleton—when the weather gets too hot. That’s because as temperatures rise, the food-providing algae start to produce something else: toxic chemicals similar to hydrogen peroxide. The chemicals, which start to secrete at higher temperatures, damage both the corals and the […]