Bacterial antibiotic microbiome resistance: mechanism found (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, March 05, 2020, 21:53 (1724 days ago) @ David Turell

Our necessary microbiome can protect itself when antibiotics are give to fight infection:

https://phys.org/news/2020-03-microbiome-species-interactions-reveal-bacteria.html

"';We found that interactions between species in the gut microbiome ecosystem influence the effectiveness of antibiotics at killing off an individual species within this community, as well as the entire community's metabolism," said Huang.

"The researchers demonstrated that when a type of bacterium from the fruit fly microbiome, called Lactobacillus—which are also found in yogurt—is grown together with a vinegar-producing fly bacterium called Acetobacter, it is less susceptible to death by antibiotics.

"This is a newfound category of a phenomenon called antibiotic tolerance, meaning that cells die much more slowly when found together than they would on their own. Tolerance can be dangerous, because this delay increases the risk that full-on resistance to the antibiotic could evolve.

"'Normally, tolerance occurs when a cell slows its metabolism in response to antibiotic exposure," explained Ludington. "But in this case, the tolerance is actually associated with increased metabolism."

"It turns out that the Acetobacters consume the lactic acid that is excreted as a waste product by neighboring Lactobacillus, providing a fitness advantage to both species and triggering the tolerance the team discovered.

"'We don't know exactly how it happens yet, but we think the two bacterial species both 'know' when the other type of cell is there and respond appropriately," said Benjamin Obadia of UC Berkeley. "These mechanisms are probably evolved from living together, and we wouldn't have seen them if we studied the two species in isolation.'"

Comment: My view is God started life with bacteria and they have been kept around to help us live better in many ways. Protection designed by God.