Antibiotic-resistant bacteria could help clear antibiotic contamination

Antibiotics include a vast array of drugs that can kill bacteria or prevent them from multiplying. They are prescribed for numerous conditions arising from bacterial infection and can also be used prophylactically before major surgery or immune suppression. Consequently, antibiotics are among the most frequently prescribed drugs in healthcare.



Although antibiotics play an important role in medical practice, they have been overused in recent years and this has led to many of the bacteria they are designed to destroy becoming resistant to them. Although new antibiotics have been discovered, bacteria are continually mutating and more antibiotic-resistant strains develop.

In addition, vast quantities of antibiotics are ending up in the environment via pharmaceutical waste and livestock feed, further increasing the risk of antibiotic resistance.

Recently, it was discovered that some antibiotic-resistant bacteria actually ate the antibiotics designed to kill them. The mechanisms enabling bacteria to consume antibiotics and thrive were not understood, but the latest research has now elucidated some of the key steps involved.

Gautam Dantas and his research team studied four distantly related species of soil bacteria that readily lived on a diet of penicillin.

They noticed that specific genes were expressed when the bacteria were fed on the antibiotic, which were not expressed if they were given a sugary diet.

These genes enabled the bacteria to neutralise the toxic capacity of the penicillin so they could proceed to digest the remainder of the molecule.

E. coli could potentially be engineered to feed on antibiotics present in the environment, providing a new strategy for cleaning up antibiotic-contaminated soil and waterways.

This in turn will help slow down the rate at which antibiotic resistance develops and undermines our ability to treat bacterial infections.

Sources:
Crofts TS, et al. Shared strategies for B-lactam catabolism in the soil microbiome. Nature Chemical Biology April 2108.
Washington University School of Medicine press release 30th April 2018.

Written by
Kate Bass

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Antibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon amplified by inappropriate uses..

Bacteria can survive under antibiotic exposure by developing a biological timer

Modifying a cancer drug has created a new agent for multi-resistant infections