2023-04-20 06:03:00
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a significant problem. In 2019, this capability contributed to the deaths of 1.27 million people.
In addition, bacteria can also be tolerant. That is, they can survive despite relatively long exposure to an antibiotic. To do this, these microorganisms go into a dormant state until the antibiotic wears off. Megan Keller, a doctoral student in microbiology at Cornell University, studies the tolerance of bacteria to antibiotics. With her colleagues, she studies in particular the tolerance of Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria responsible for cholera. In 2010, this microbe already showed resistance to 36 antibiotics, and this number will continue to grow.
Megan Keller wrote an article regarding the tolerance and resistance of bacteria to antibiotics in The Conversation.
Indeed, a brief and irregular exposure to an antibiotic causes bacteria to develop a tolerance, then a resistance to the drugs.
An unexpected survival technique
Megan Keller explained thata large number of antibiotics was designed in order to destroy the external defenses of microbes. To help explain, she compared these defenses to a stone fortress and antibiotics to cannonballs. In the case of’a resistancebacteria are immune to cannonball. Either they destroy the projectiles before reaching their outer wall, or they modify their wall so as to become immune.
THE tolerant bacteria, they adopt a completely different strategy. They remove their wall themselves in order to avoid damage (cannonballs target the outer wall). If the antibiotics wear off quickly enough, the bacteria can put their protection back in place. From then on, they can defend themselves once more and return to their occupations.
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Bacteria can impart this skill
Old studies have shown that all bacteria can become tolerant. It would suffice to push them to their limits with antibiotics to eliminate them. Another more recent discovery supports that the longer microbes retain their tolerance to antibiotics, the more likely they are to develop a resistance.
In fact, probably the most worrying thing is knowing that bacteria can distribute this type of abilities among themselves. For good reason, bacteria can communicate their DNA under certain conditions. In her article, Megan Keller even claimed that the tolerance would be associated with the spread of resistance to antibiotics.
In order to avoid this type of problem, researchers encourage individuals to follow doctor’s orders. It concerns so much prescribed doses as regularity at which to consume them. Indeed, a brief and irregular exposure to an antibiotic causes bacteria to develop a tolerance, then a resistance to the drugs.
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