U.S. Scientists Learn More About Anthrax Spore Process

U.S. scientists have discovered how the bacterium that causes anthrax, a dreaded biological weapons agent, creates the spore that allows it to survive harsh conditions for long periods of time, the University of Michigan Health System announced Tuesday (see GSN, Dec. 15).

In a study to be published in next month’s Journal of Bacteriology, scientists from the University of Michigan, the Institute for Genomic Research and the Scripps Research Institute detail their findings about the process of anthrax spore formation. Among the scientists’ results was that as many as one-third of the genes in the Bacillus anthracis bacterium are involved in spore production.

“The spore is the infectious agent of anthrax. It’s how the bacterium persists in the natural environment, and it’s what terrorists would manipulate in a bioterrorism attack,” said University of Michigan graduate student Brendan Thomason, a co-author of the paper. “In order to understand how the bacterium causes disease and discover new methods for anthrax treatment and prevention, scientists need a more thorough understanding of the intricacies of the spore,” he said (University of Michigan Health System release/EurekaAlert, Dec. 12).

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