The New 'Living' Antibiotic Is Predatory Bacteria:
Before the discovery of penicillin in 1928, millions of lives were lost to relatively simple microbial infections. Since then, antibiotics have transformed modern medicine. The World Health Organization estimates that, on average, antibiotics add 20 years to each person’s life. However, the overuse of antibiotics has put pressure on bacteria to evolve resistance against these drugs, leading to the emergence of untreatable superbugs.
Now, researchers at South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) aim to fight fire with fire by launching predatory bacteria capable of attacking other bacteria without harming human cells. “Bacteria eating bacteria. How cool is that?” asks Professor Robert Mitchell, the team leader. He and his colleagues are also developing a natural compound called violacein to tackle Staphylococcus, a group of around 30 different bacteria known to cause skin infections, pneumonia and blood poisoning. Some Staphylococcus bacteria such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are resistant to antibiotics, making infections harder to treat.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria.
Copyright : royaltystockphoto / 123rf
Mitchell and his team isolated a bacterial strain, called D. violaceinigra strain. NI28, from forest soil collected near Ulsan in South Korea. Using a technique called high performance liquid chromatography to separate and quantify compounds produced by the bacteria, they showed that strain N128 is capable of producing large quantities of crude violacein. They are now collaborating with fabric manufacturer Yeejoo Co., the Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology, and research teams in Turkey and Romania to manufacture antibacterial fabrics infused with violacein that can effectively kill S. aureus.
The team is also working on the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. This is an obligate predator of bacteria, normally found in river water or soil. It attacks and enters the bacteria it must predate on to survive, growing and dividing repeatedly. Once inside, it eats the host from the inside out. When it has had its fill, it ruptures the host bacterium’s cell membrane and exits, ready to attack the next bacterium. Previous research showed that B. bacteriovorus does not harm human cells and can attack over 100 different bacterial pathogens.
The researchers examined how the predatory ability of B. bacteriovorus was affected by indole, a well-known metabolite produced by E. coli and many other bacteria. Indole regulates various biological functions in bacteria, for example regulating the stability of small DNA molecules, as well as functioning as a signalling molecule, which different communities of bacteria use to ‘talk’ and coordinate gene expression within a population.
Professor Mitchell hopes this research is a step in the direction of understanding how B. bacteriovorus can be used and controlled to attack specific bacteria that cause illness, while avoiding ‘good’ bacteria necessary for daily survival. This could help in further development of ‘living antibiotics’.
Professor Robert J. Mitchell
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
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Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2017/03/the-new-living-antibiotic-is-predatory.html
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