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Scientists are turning to an unexpected source in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria: fish drool.
The researchers said the microbes in the protective mucus that covers young fish are promising in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria. These include so-called "superbugs" microbes responsible for resistance to methicillin. Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.
New compound to explore
Mud protects fish against bacteria, fungi and viruses, trapping them before they can cause infections. It is also rich in compounds known to have antibacterial activity, according to the authors of the study.
The study was presented at the meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Orlando, Florida. Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
"For us, any microbe present in the marine environment that could provide a new compound deserves to be explored," said principal investigator Sandra Loesgen in an ACS press release. Loesgen is an badistant professor of chemistry at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
Molly Austin, a chemistry student at Loesgen's lab, said that mucus is fascinating because the environment in which fish live is complex.
"They are in constant contact with their environment with many pathogenic viruses," explained Austin.
The researchers are trying to determine if anything in the fish mucus could help protect people.
Reduce the use of antibiotics
The sludge investigators are studying comes from juvenile offshore and surface fish caught off the southern coast of California. Young fish have a weaker immune system than adults, so they have more protective mucus on their scales. And their mucus may contain a higher concentration of active bacteria than adult fish, the researchers added.
Until now, the research team has identified 47 strains of different bacteria from slime. Five bacterial extracts strongly inhibited by MRSA and three inhibited Candida albicans, a fungus that causes infections of the mouth, throat and bad in humans.
One type of bacterium from the mucus of a pink perch in the Pacific has shown strong activity against MRSA and against a colon cancer cell line, scientists said.
In addition to the potential for new antibiotics for humans, this project could pave the way for drugs targeting microbes on certain types of fish, thereby reducing the use of antibiotics in aquaculture, suggested the authors of the study.
Image credit: iStock
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