Abstract 1109 How harmless bacteria can transition into pathogens: Bacterial surface chaperones regulate Streptococcus pneumoniae cell-to-cell communication

The human body contains trillions of harmless bacterial species. However, under certain conditions some of these microbes can transition into pathogens; the mechanisms involved in these transitions are not clear. To elucidate this mechanism, our lab uses Streptococcus pneumoniae, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen. S. pneumoniae is commonly found in the throat cavity of 5-90 % of healthy people, depending on the population or setting, however, it can transition into fatal infections such as pneumonia, blood poisoning and inflammation of the protective layers of the brain.