Tuberculosis bacteria rely on a family of genes that help them survive the challenging journey from one person’s lungs to another person’s during coughing, sneezing or talking, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The findings provide new targets for tuberculosis therapies that could simultaneously treat infection and prevent the spread of bacteria.
Until now, very little was known about this transmission process—when bacteria-laden droplets are expelled into the air, where they must withstand changes in temperature, oxygen levels, humidity and chemical composition. The study , published March 7 in PNAS, revealed for the first time that tuberculosis bacteria don’t passively endure these transitions but actively engage hundreds of genes to adapt…