University of Alberta research has revealed an unusual and previously unknown way for bacteria to develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs.
In a new study published in Nature Communications, the team illustrates how a strain of E. coli bacteria, often found in patients with Crohn's disease, form protective biofilms to give themselves a survival advantage and worsen gut inflammation.
Two distinct genetic elements — which on their own could not produce the biofilms — combine to form a hybrid system of protection, explains principal investigator Wael Elhenawy, assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology and Canada Research Chair in Microbiome Research.
The researchers, including first author and PhD student Jonas Wong, used a series of tests to see that the hybrid system builds tiny hairlike proteins and a filmy layer on the surface of the cells, shielding the bacteria from attack.
“This paper uncovers a new way used by pathogenic bacteria to spread antibiotic resistance, a leading cause of mortality across the globe,” Elhenawy says, pointing out that many of the deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted from secondary infections caused by treatment-resistant bacteria.
“Our work holds great potential to design new therapeutics to eliminate multi-drug resistant pathogens.”
Elhenawy notes that further research will explore whether other types of bacteria also use this protective mechanism.