Exploding kamikaze bacteria

"Soldier" bacteria filled with toxins sacrifice themselves for the benefit of their conspecifics, giving them pathogenic properties. Secretion mechanism of Tc Toxins. MPI MOPH - For their invasion pathogenic bacteria target the host's defense mechanisms and vital cell functions with toxins. Before these deadly substances can attack host cells, bacteria must first export them from their production site - the cytoplasm - using dedicated secretion systems. The group of Stefan Raunser, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, Germany, has now elucidated a so-far enigmatic, exceptional secretion mechanism, that allows the release of so-called Tc toxins. In a kind of kamikaze attack, a small group of "soldier" bacteria, packed to the brim with toxins, release their deadly cargo by exploding in the host. Once a pathogenic bacterium has entered its host, it turns on a series of defense and attack mechanisms to spread, invade and colonize deeper tissues and organs.