TokyoOne bacterium can found an entire chain.
Shiga toxin-producing strains cause kidney failure in children.
Tokyo Metropolitan University found the cells elongate and divide without separating, defying assumptions that they detach and scatter.
The newly identified gene family gives detection tests a target the hidden chains lacked.
How each outlet framed it
- Phys.org
- describes chain-forming mechanism (CLAP) allowing STEC spread via flow-mediated detachment; identifies novel gene family
Sources: Phys.org