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E-Mail A toxin produced by bacteria as a defence mechanism causes mutations in target bacteria that could help them survive, according to a study published today in eLife. The finding suggests that competitive encounters between bacterial cells could have profound consequences on the evolution of bacterial populations. When bacterial cells come into contact, they often produce toxins as a defence mechanism. Although it is known that the bacteria producing these toxins have a competitive advantage, exactly how the toxins affect the recipient cells is less clear. Undergoing intoxication is not always detrimental for cells - there are scenarios in which encountering a toxin could provide a benefit, such as generating antibiotic resistance, explains lead author Marcos de Moraes, Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, US. We wanted to study the effects of a toxin that alters DNA beyond that of cell death and see how i ....