WORLD
Ancient antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in isolated cave
Baku, July 7 (AZERTAC). Bacteria that have never before come in contact with humans, their diseases or their antibiotics, but are nevertheless resistant to a variety of antibiotics, have been discovered in a U.S. cave.
Scientists have long debated the relative roles of humans and nature in the evolution and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can pose a serious problem in the treatment of diseases.
In order to figure out how ancient and naturally widespread antibiotic resistance is, some researchers have been trying to study bacteria in environments highly isolated from human activity, such as a part of Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Cavern National Park in New Mexico. It has been cut off from any input from the surface for four million to seven million years. The area is so deep and difficult to access that researchers had to camp there while collecting samples, said a news release from McMaster University.
In fact, the bacteria used two methods to resist antibiotics that had never been seen before.
McMaster University research Gerry Wright said the diversity of antibiotic resistance among cave bacteria suggests there could also be undiscovered antibiotics among them. (McMaster University)
That serves as a warning that antibiotics should be used judiciously in order to avoid helping kinds of antibiotic resistance that exist in nature from moving into other kinds of bacteria, the study said.
The researchers think some bacteria in the cave may have evolved to produce antibiotic compounds to outcompete other bacteria in a harsh environment with limited resources. Other bacteria, in turn, evolved antibiotic resistance as a defence mechanism.