Genetic data on world’s bacteria to help fight antibiotic resistance
Researchers have identified the genetic sequences of more than 3,000 bacteria. They say the he findings will provide better knowledge on diseases including how they develop resistance to antibiotics. PHOTO | FILE
Researchers have identified the genetic sequences of more than 3,000 bacteria, including some of the world’s deadliest strains.
They include bacteria that infect millions of people worldwide and deadly strains of plague, dysentery and cholera stored at the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) which was established in England in 1920.
NCTC is a microbial resource with more than 5,500 species of bacteria used by researchers to compare historical and modern strains.
The collection includes some of the most important drug-resistant bacteria, and researchers say the findings will provide better knowledge on diseases including how they develop resistance to antibiotics.
This will come in handy for diseases such as tuberculosis which infects 10.4 million people in the world and killed 1.7 million people in 2016, as well as gonorrhoea, a sexually-transmitted infection that infects 78 million people around the world every year.
The collection also has several samples of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is resistant to multiple antibiotics and can cause life-threatening infections in hospitals.
For the study, all type strains of bacteria or the first strains that describe the species were sequenced and used to identify specific infections in people, and tests to diagnose them and rapidly identify the source of an outbreak and contain it.
It contains historically-important strains such as 16 from penicillin pioneer Alexander Fleming, including a sample from his nose. Additionally, the first bacteria sample, a strain of dysentery-causing Shigella flexneri, that was isolated from a soldier in the trenches of World War 1 is still in the collection.
This has provided a way for scientists to identify and fight past, present and future infections and antibiotic resistance.
“This vital resource provides tools for tracing infections and identifying outbreaks of resistant bacteria,” said Head of Culture Collections Julie Russell, adding that all future bacteria species will be sequenced as soon as they are collected.
The collection also provides scientists with valuable clinical insights of bacteria before, during and after treatment with antibiotics, thus helping them understand current pathogens, and creating a data resource for current and future scientific research.
