Frontiers in Microbiology

By targeting multiprotein molecule, antibody inhibits bacteria’s growth, pathogenicity

Researchers from Osaka University found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are fatter and shorter than their antibiotic-sensitive parental strains, and that these morphological changes correlate with changes in the expression of genes related to energy metabolism and antibiotic resistance. A machine learning approach was able to distinguish between antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic-sensitive bacteria in the absence of drug treatment based on microscope images, suggesting that bioinformatics could be used to detect antibiotic resistance in patient samples.

Researchers from Hiroshima University now have a better understanding of the mechanism underlying how certain bacteria can transfer genetic material across taxonomic kingdoms, including to fungi and protists. Their work, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, could have applications in changing how bacteria perform certain functions or react to changes in their environment.