How diarrhea pathogens switch into attack mode at body temperature

(Ruhr-University Bochum) Many bacterial pathogens excrete toxins as soon as they have entered the host in order to suppress its immune response. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have analysed what happens on the molecular level when the diarrhea pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis switches into attack mode. To this end, they examined so-called RNA thermometers, which signal to the bacteria whether they are in the host.