Pathogen-pathogen interactions, a way to soothe virulence?

In planktonic and biofilm mimicking environments, the staphyloccocal transcriptome in t111+t13595 co-cultures showed significant upregulation of genes related to virulence factors contrary to those co-cultures with B. thuringiesis and K. oxytoca. In the biofilm polymicrobial environment, S. aureus transcriptome shows extensive downregulation of gene expression. The animal model co-infection with S. aureus and K. oxytoca proved to be less virulent than when infected only with S. aureus alone, or K. oxytoca alone where higher infection and mortality rates were observed. Overall design: Two Staphylococcus aureus strains, one Bacillus thuringiensis, and one Klebsiella oxytoca strains. Twenty three different conditions.