Scientistshave discovered ancientbacteriaresistant to almost a dozen modernantibiotics, sparking fears of a new superbug. For the past 5,000 years, the bacteria, calledPsychrobacterSC65A.3 – had been trapped under a thick layer of ice in the Scărişoara Cave, northwestRomania.
Romanian researchers have analysed the strain'santibiotic resistanceprofile after drilling an 82-foot ice core representing a 13,000-year timeline. When they tested it against 28 antibiotics, the bacteria were resistant to 10, including medicines we currently use to treat infections of the lungs, skin, blood, reproductive system andurinary tract.
This is despite the fact that the organisms have existed for millennia before the invention of these vital medicines. The scientists also discovered thatPsychrobacterharboured more than 100 resistance-related genes, according to the study published inFrontiers in Microbiology.
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SC65A.3 is the firstPsychrobacterstrain for which resistance to certain antibiotics – including trimethoprim, clindamycin and metronidazole – has been reported, medicines currently used to treat diseases including tuberculosis (TB), colitis and UTIs.
"We commonly associate antibiotic resistance withmisuse of antibioticsin urban and agricultural contexts, but antibiotic resistance is part of the natural evolution of the first occupants of our biosphere,"Dr Franklin Nobrega, Associate Professor at the University of Southampton, told theExpress. "If we think that most habitats on our planet are cold-weather environments, cold-adapted organisms have been important in developing the ecologically rich environment we all live in today.
"In this adaptation battle, microorganisms have developed metabolic circuits, as antibiotic-resistant proteins, wired to protect their populations against naturally occurring antibiotics. Bacteria face daily battles with other bacteria in their habitats, competing for nutrients. While some develop naturally occurring antibiotics, others developed countermeasures (these antibiotic resistance genes) to survive these attacks."
The threat ofglobal warmingis a concerning factor in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Dr Nobrega warned: "With global warming because ofclimate change, these cold environments will no longer trap these bacteria in these environments. Instead, they will be provided with an environment that allows them to thrive, becoming major players in our planet's soil and aquatic microbiomes.
"AMR will impact simple medical procedures, such as going to thedentist. What we consider now a small risk, may be a deadly procedure if we don’t find alternatives and act on socioeconomic drivers of AMR."
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
