Flesh-Eating Bacteria’s Genomic/Transcriptomic Trigger Found
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Coordinating the sort of full-spectrum analysis more commonly deployed in cancer research, scientists based at Houston Methodist examined flesh-eating strains of Streptococcus pyogenesboth genomically and transcriptomally. Once the scientists had amassed an unusually large data set, they sifted through it with artificial intelligence tools and discovered a novel virulence mechanism. In addition to explaining how a run-of-the-mill strep infection can turn into a devastating flesh-eating disease, the mechanism may guide efforts to develop vaccines and therapies.
