Complete transcriptional profile of an environmental pathogen

Evaluation of: Toledo-Arana A, Dussurget O, Nikitas G et al.: The Listeria transcriptional landscape from saprophytism to virulence. Nature 459 (7249), 950-956 (2009). Bacteria adapt to a variety of environmental conditions through changes in gene regulation and gene expression. Listeria monocytogenes is an environmental bacterium that exists as a saprophyte but is capable of transitioning into a pathogen upon ingestion by a susceptible host. In this report, Toledo-Arana et al. present the complete transcriptome of L. monocytogenes and identify a number of novel RNA regulatory elements that may facilitate bacterial adaptation to diverse environments. Their report illustrates a global coordination of transcriptional responses that takes place as the bacterium transitions from life in broth culture to life inside of an infected host.