A type of bacteria found in a cave in Romania and isolated under ice for nearly 5 thousand years has shown resistance to ten different antibiotics used in modern medicine. This finding creates an opportunity to develop new strategies to combat antibiotic resistance and better understand natural evolutionary processes.
The research was published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Microbiology and reveals that this bacterial strain, called Psychrobacter SC65A.3, represents both a threat and a potential opportunity.
If these ancient microbes are released from melting ice due to climate change, the resistance genes they carry could spread to modern bacteria and worsen the global problem of antibiotic resistance.
This bacterial species showed enzymatic activities that could be effective against super-resistant microbes and may have the potential to develop new drugs or biotechnological tools to combat antibiotic resistance.
Researchers have extracted ice cores to a depth of 25 meters in the famous Scarisoara Ice Cave in Romania. This ice column represents a timeline of approximately 13 thousand years and has preserved the bacteria in its layer for approximately 5 thousand years.
Scientists analyzed the bacterial sample they obtained in the laboratory and showed that it was resistant to 10 of 28 antibiotics. These antibiotics include both oral and injectable drugs used to treat serious bacterial infections, such as rifampicin, vancomycin and ciprofloxacin.
Cristina Purcarea, the lead author of the study and biologist from the Romanian Academy of Sciences, stated that these ancient bacteria are very valuable for science and medicine and emphasized the importance of working carefully in the laboratory and taking biosafety measures.
Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to health
According to the World Health Organization, resistance to antibiotics has been increasing rapidly around the world in recent years, and this poses an increasing risk for healthcare systems.
