To understand the relationship between toxicity and bacterial virulence in greater depth, the researchers applied a functional genomics approach to two sequenced collections of S. aureus, a major human pathogen.
Contrary to what they were expecting to find, the study showed an unexpected inverse correlation between bacterial toxicity and disease severity, meaning that the most severe staph infections were actually the least toxic.
“For S. aureus, an opportunistic pathogen, it is clear that virulence is multifaceted,” concluded the study. “With the movement of genome sequencing into routine clinical practice and the drive towards personalized medicine, we need to define these complex interactions and bring the biology of the pathogen into greater consideration in clinical settings.”
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