They have been living in caves for 5,000 years. And they are resistant to antibiotics

A team of researchers led by Dr. Cristina Purcarei from the Institute of Biology in Bucharest drilled 25-meter ice core from Scărișoara Cave in Romania. The fragment of ice from which the bacterium was isolated has over 5000 years – it comes from a time when antibiotics did not exist even in people’s wildest dreams. The results were published in Frontiers in Microbiology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Frontiers.

The isolated strain is called Psychrobacter SC65A.3. It is a cold-loving bacterium – such a microorganism loves temperatures close to zero and calmly survives conditions that would destroy most known microorganisms. Scientists tested it on 28 different antibiotics from 10 classes. Result? Resistance to 10 of them, including rifampicin (used for tuberculosis), vancomycin (in case of severe intestinal infections) i ciprofloxacin (for urinary tract infections).

Importantly, the bacterium has it in its genome over 100 genes associated with resistance. This means that defense mechanisms against antibiotics evolved in nature long before humans discovered penicillin. This is a serious argument for those who believe that antibiotic resistance is only a problem resulting from drug overuse.

Melting glaciers and ice caves can release similar microbes into the environment. If their resistance genes end up in modern pathogens, the superbug problem may get worse. This is a non-obvious but real effect of climate change.

On the other hand – SC65A.3 can inhibit the growth of several dangerous superbugs and produces enzymes with biotechnological potential. The genome hides nearly 600 genes with previously unknown functions. This is a huge puzzle, but also an opportunity for pharmacology.