Deathly drool: evolutionary and ecological basis of septic bacteria in Komodo dragon mouths.

Komodo dragons, the world's largest lizard, dispatch their large ungulate prey by biting and tearing flesh. If a prey escapes, oral bacteria inoculated into the wound reputedly induce a sepsis that augments later prey capture by the same or other lizards. However, the ecological and evolutionar...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: J J Bull, Tim S Jessop, Marvin Whiteley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2010-06-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2888571?pdf=render