2023-05-03 22:39:37
Sloths seem to hide a treasure for medicine in their fur. A study published by biologists from Costa Rica showed that the fur of these animals contains a series of bacteria that play an antibiotic role.
The research, published in February in the scientific journal Microbiology Research, revealed the presence of bacteria, mainly of the genera Rothia e Brevibacteriumwhich live in the fur of sloths, and are capable of producing antibiotics to regulate the presence of pathogens.
The bacteria act as a kind of booster to the animals’ immunity, also attacking fungi that cause diseases in several mammals, including humans. “Some of the species fought by the bacteria cause important allergies and pulmonary mycoses”, states the study.
The discovery might pave the way for research, as the use of traditional antibiotics causes several consequences, including the loss of effectiveness of their use and even a higher incidence of allergies.
In an interview with AFP, however, one of the coordinators of the study, Max Chavarría, said that research is needed to better understand how these regulatory bacteria act and what their genetic information is before using them in humans. But he is hopeful.
“Projects like ours can contribute to finding new molecules that can, in the medium or long term, be used in this battle that we are fighting for resistance to antibiotics”, he says.
Methodology
For the research, skin samples were collected from 20 sloths from a sanctuary in Costa Rica. The fur of the animals is very thick and it contains insects, bacteria, fungi and even algae.
The focus of Chavarría’s study was on how antibiotic bacteria regulate the presence of pathogens in two species of sloths on the Caribbean island, the two-toed and the three-toed sloth.
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