The microbial toxin colibactin has just the right shape to snuggle up to DNA — but its embrace is unfortunately more cancerous than cozy.
Colibactin is produced by bacteria in the gut and causes mutations implicated in colon cancer. It bears chemical motifs so good at damaging DNA that scientists call them “warheads.” And now, a close look at colibactin as it reacts with DNA has revealed how it seeks and destroys: Its structure grants it a pesky proclivity to target particular stretches of DNA, researchers report December 4 in Science.
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