Scientists in France and Portugal have succeeded in showing how the bacterial genome in food-poisoning bacteria Listeria monocytogenes adapts to infection and to host conditions. This is the first time that the interaction between bacteria and host has been tracked in real time. The scientists hope that the breakthrough could help them develop new cures against this potentially lethal bacterium. L. monocytogenes pose a danger to pregnant mothers, with mortality rates following infection as high as 30%. The disease caused by the bacteria, called Listeriosis, normally occurs after ingestion of contaminated food.