University of Copenhagen researchers have discovered a surprising tactic of pathogenic bacteria when being attacked by antibiotics: hibernation.
University of Copenhagen researchers have discovered a surprising tactic of pathogenic bacteria when being attacked by antibiotics: hibernation.
While it is no secret that pathogenic bacteria are able to develop antibiotic resistant variants, a less well-appreciated fact is that a small number of bacteria, including some of nature’s nastiest pathogens, can resist antibiotics and escape antibiotic treatments without relying on variants.
How’s that? Researchers at the University of Copenhagen now have an answer. They have found examples of a small portion of pathogenic bacteria hiding out in a dormant, hibernation-like state, until the danger posed to them by antibiotics passes. When safe, they awaken and resume their regular functions.
"We studied E. coli bacteria from urinary tract infections that had been treated with antibiotics and were supposedly under control. In time, the bacteria re-awoke and began to spread once again," explains Professor Kenn Gerdes of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Biology.
Read more at Faculty of Science - University of Copenhagen
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