This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Even highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria become more vulnerable when their cell wall transport system is disrupted, according to a new study from Umeå University. The discovery reveals a previously overlooked weakness that could help researchers develop new strategies to combat antibiotic resistance.
"The search for new antibiotics remains crucial, but we also need smarter ways to extend the lifespan of the antibiotics we already have. We wanted to find out whether resistant bacteria could be pushed into an evolutionary dead end, where the very mechanisms that help them survive instead make them vulnerable to existing antibiotics," says Felipe Cava, Professor at the Department of Molecular Biology at Umeå University. Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health challenge.
As bacteria evolve resistance to medicines, infections become increasingly difficult to treat, raising the risk of severe illness and death. Now, researchers at Umeå University have identified an unexpected vulnerability in certain resistant bacteria that could potentially be exploited to make them susceptible to antibiotics once again. The study, published in Nature Communications, was led by Felipe Cava's research group at Umeå University in collaboration with researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Umeå University Hospital.
Bacteria are protected by a robust cell wall that helps them survive in harsh environments. The cell wall is also the target of β-lactam antibiotics, a class of drugs that includes penicillins and remains among the most widely used treatments for bacterial infections. Some bacteria, however, have evolved the ability to continue building their cell wall despite antibiotic treatment, making them resistant.
A well-known example is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which causes difficult-to-treat infections worldwide. Over time, these bacteria can acquire additional mutations that further strengthen their resistance. The researchers found that resistant bacteria depend on a small lipid molecule called undecaprenyl phosphate, which acts as a conveyor belt for the building blocks needed to construct the cell wall.
When this transport system was disrupted, it became considerably more difficult for the bacteria to maintain their resistance. In the study, the researchers tracked how MRSA evolved during antibiotic treatment. They identified genetic changes that enabled the bacteria to regain resistance.
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