As most bacteria evolve to a less deatly version of itself to promote spreading, why hasn’t TB evolved to a more harmless bacteria? It’s so old, so there was plenty of time. Killing the host seems pointless in a evolutionary sense.
Thanks!
In: Biology
I doesn’t need to. Killing the host is relative to how long it takes to grow versus its host. Its reproductive cycle is so slow that there’s no selective pressure for it to do less damage.
Microbes typically evolve to be less virulent when they are very aggressive and fast growing in their host. TB grows at the same rate that human cells grow under optimum conditions.
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