All Ferran Garcia-Pichel articles
-
NewsWhen bacteria get hungry, they kill – and eat – their neighbors
Scientists have discovered a gruesome microbial survival strategy: when food is scarce, some bacteria kill and consume their neighbors. The researchers show that under nutrient-limited conditions, bacteria use a specialized weapon — the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) — to attack, kill, and slowly absorb nutrients from other bacterial cells.