SciTech Daily February 21, 2022
Microbes compete for resources and must also hide from or fight predators. Using the fungus Rhizopus, which grows in the soil and on spoiled food, an international team of researchers (UK, USA – UCLA) showed how it fights back against this predator by partnering with a bacteria called Ralstonia in a two-way partnership. By living inside Rhizopus, Ralstonia hides from the predator. In return, Ralstonia makes a toxin that Rhizopus can use to neutralize the predator, preventing it from feeding on the pair. By learning to fight off predators in the soil, Rhizopus has also learned how to cause disease in humans. They showed that when its partnership with Ralstonia is disrupted, animals infected with Rhizopus can survive devastating disease. The researchers hope that by better understanding the ecology and strategies for survival that Rhizopus and other pathogens use in their normal environments, we will be better prepared to combat these microbes when they cause human disease…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Swelling of R. microsporus FP469-12 spores inhibits phagocytosis. Credit: Current Biology, February 07, 2022Â