New mechanism to prevent mutations discovered

2017/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Genetika

According to a recent study, some microorganisms use a previously unknown system to detect and correct genetic material errors. Thanks to this mechanism, some pathogenic bacteria avoid resistance to antibiotics, such as the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, responsible for tuberculosis.

The discovery is of great importance for the development of antibiotic resistance strategies and for improving the results of biotechnological processes. The research has been published in the journal Nature Communications.