Bacteria Survive on All-Antibiotic Diet
The scientists wanted to make sure they had a good control—a group of bacteria that didn’t grow at all—so they bathed some of the bacteria in antibiotics. But there was a problem: The bacteria didn’t just survive in the antibiotics, they consumed them. The researchers then gathered soil from 11 sites with varying degrees of exposure to human-made antibiotics (from manure-filled cornfields to an immaculate forest) and found that every site contained bacteria, including relatives of Shigella and the notorious E. coli that could survive solely on antibiotics. And these weren’t just piddling doses—the bacteria could tolerate levels of antibiotics that were up to 100 times higher than would be given to a patient, and 50 times higher than what would qualify a bacterium as resistant.
Related: Bacteria Can Transfer Genes to Other Bacteria – People Have More Bacterial Cells than Human Cells – Soil Could Shed Light on Antibiotic Resistance – FDA May Make Decision That Will Speed Antibiotic Drug Resistance – Drug Resistant Bacteria More Common
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Nice post, really interesting stuff bacteria arent they?
These discoveries are in line with some of the staph viruses found in hospitals that are resistant to anti biotics. The key take away is that the wee beasties will mutate so any antibiotic holds only a temporary solution. As soon as one antibiotic goes on the market a new one has to be developed to bite the bugs that have found a resistance to the antibiotic just released.