Bug suicide could reveal new antibiotic
Scientists have come to understand the mysterious behaviour of kamikaze bacteria, and they say it could help them develop new kinds of antibiotics.
Scientists have come to understand the mysterious behaviour of kamikaze bacteria, and they say it could help them develop new kinds of antibiotics.
Despite killing its own creator the toxin provides an overall survival advantage, by preventing other bacteria of the same, or similar, species from invading the population. The key is that the invading organism is harmed to a greater extent than the toxin-producing population - keeping the invaders at bay. So even bacteria, say the authors, seem to follow the adage that you can win if you harm others to a greater extent than you harm yourself.Â
The team looked at the common bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumonococcus) which causes diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis in humans. Their conclusions were based not only on extensive culture experiments but also computer models.
Perhaps the most important finding is that pneumonococcus hasn't evolved to protect itself against these poisons. Resistance of bacteria to medicines that kill them antibiotics is a huge problem in current medicine. If bacteria are unable to evolve resistance to these toxins, they could be used to develop a new kind of antibiotic which overcomes this issue.
