Bacteria communicate to help resist antibiotics

New research from Western University unravels a novel means of communication that allows bacteria such as Burkholderia cenocepacia (B. cenocepacia) to resist antibiotic treatment. B. cenocepacia is an environmental bacterium that causes devastating infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or with compromised immune systems.

Research has shown that the more antibiotic resistant cells within a bacterial population produce and share small molecules with less resistant cells, making them more resistant to antibiotic killing. Therefore one mechanism of antimicrobial resistance appears to be based on chemical communication among bacterial cells.

For further details, see the following research paper:

Omar M. El-Halfawy, Miguel A. Valvano. Chemical Communication of Antibiotic Resistance by a Highly Resistant Subpopulation of Bacterial Cells. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (7): e68874

Posted by Tim Sandle