Bacteria That Snack on Antibiotics
A new study has turned up hundreds of bacterial strains that are not only antibiotic-resistant—they literally eat the life-saving drugs for breakfast.
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A new study has turned up hundreds of bacterial strains that are not only antibiotic-resistant—they literally eat the life-saving drugs for breakfast. Harvard University researchers found the new bugs while scouring soil samples for bacteria capable of converting agricultural waste into biofuels. They discovered that many of their specimens (such as this example, shown in false color) could withstand antibiotic concentrations up to 50 times stronger than the threshold for antibiotic resistance. It turned out that unlike most known bacteria, the new organisms actually relied on natural or synthetic antibiotics for their sole source of energy. Drug-resistant bacteria pose a growing problem, particularly in hospitals, where they may easily spread between patients, shrugging off even the most powerful antibiotics. These so-called superbugs do not feed on antibiotics. But some of the new organisms, described in Science, are relatives of known human pathogens such as the deadly E. coli strain O157:H7, raising the possibility that the soil-dwellers might transfer even nastier abilities to our microbial foes.
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