Scientists sequence Black Death bacteria DNA, admit they were wrong

Researchers have sequenced the DNA of plague bacteria from the bodies of English victims of the Black Death. The bits of DNA they obtained looked surprisingly modern, leaving the question of why the disease was so deadly uanswered.

<a href='http://meincmagazine.com/science/news/2011/08/scientists-sequence-black-death-bacteria-dna-admit-they-were-wrong.ars'>Read the whole story</a>

 

[nickf]

Reading this article brings to mind the dreaded E. Coli. ... I wonder if the difference in that makes some wild strains so dangerous has been figured out.

By and large, yes. It's usually the result of the bacterium producing i.e. enterohemorrhagic toxins due to horizontal gene transfer from prophage infection (a type of virus that integrates directly into the bacterial 'chromosome') or the presence of a (naturally occurring) plasmid within the cell cytoplasm. Bacteria tend to be promiscuous when it comes to taking up DNA from the environment.

edit - typo