Abstract
The ability of Streptococcus pneumoniae to survive desiccation suggests it may be passed between hosts via surface transmission. Here, Matthews et al. (e00713-20) use a high-throughput genetic screen to identify genes that are important for desiccation. Many pathways were found to play a role in desiccation tolerance, most notably DNA damage repair. Multiple DNA repair pathways were involved, suggesting that extensive DNA damage occurs during desiccation—a survival defect which correlated with delayed transmission in mice. These results suggest that DNA damage is a significant challenge that bacteria must overcome during desiccation, which may in turn impact fomite transmission.
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