Scientists from the University of Newcastle in Australia and Newcastle University and Imperial College in the UK collaborated on the study which details how a huge molecule called a stressosome protects a wide range of bacterial cells from external stress and danger.
"It's basically the coordination centre which says `we're under stress and we've got to deal with it in some way,'" Associate Professor Peter Lewis from the Australian university said.
"We knew that when bacteria were stressed, a warning signal would be sent from the surface to the inside of the cell.
"The stressosome would then respond by triggering new proteins in the cell to react to the stress."
Being too salty, too hot or having too much UV, alcohol or acid were all things that could create stress for the bacteria, he said.
"The ways in which we experimentally induce stress include sticking into them the alcohol equivalent of beer," Prof Lewis said.
"If it's too salty, you need to get rid of that salt, if it's too much UV, you need to protect your DNA against damage ... just like our cells will produce melanin, which turns our skin brown to protect us."
When it is stressed, bacteria is at its most infectious because one of the easiest ways to de-stress is to get inside a human cell.
"Just like we might get up and move into the shade if we're getting too much sun," he said.
The research might lead to finding a way to de-stress the bacteria before it infects humans, Assoc Prof Lewis said.
"When they get stressed they break into your cells to protect themselves," he said.
"So, if you can protect them from getting stressed, you can protect yourself from getting infected."
The protein molecules that make up the stressosome are found in bacteria which causes deadly diseases such as listeriosis and melioidosis, which cause significant health problems in northern Australia and South-East Asia.
The research is published in this month's issue of the international journal Science.
