Organic chemistry

Autophagy

Virus

Micronucleus test

Bacteria

Biology

Microbiology

Lytic cycle

Apoptosis

Chemistry

Immunology

Burkholderia pseudomallei

Programmed cell death

Signal transduction

Cell biology

Toxicity

Genetics

Immune system

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance Burkholderia pseudomallei is a bacterial pathogen that causes melioidosis, an infectious disease in the tropics with high morbidity and mortality. It has a unique property among bacteria: to fuse infected host cells. We found that our immune system detects bacterial- or chemical-induced host cell fusion as a danger signal. Abnormal cell fusion leads to genomic instability and formation of micronuclei. This triggers the host to activate a signaling pathway leading to a form of cell death known as autophagic death, which likely serves to limit abnormal cellular transformation.

Bacterial-induced cell fusion is a danger signal triggering cGAS–STING pathway via micronuclei formation