New antibiotics could be developed from fish mucus, say scientists | Society

Fish mud could be the key to developing new antibiotics, researchers say.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing danger, experts warning of a return to a situation where daily infections could become a threat to life. The NHS plans to reduce the use of antibiotics by 15% by 2024 in order to tackle the problem – termed a danger to humanity – while the government has also announced that it was considering offering incentives to pharmaceutical companies to propose new technologies. antibiotics.

But academics are also on the case. Now, researchers say that new antibiotics could be found in the mucus layer that covers the outer surface of young fish.

While the mucus itself protects the fish against harmful bacteria, fungi and viruses, the team is interested in the collection of microbes it harbors – the microbiome – and the substances it produces.

"We believe that the microbes contained in the mucus add chemistry to the antiseptic power of the mucus and that new bioactive compounds could be discovered from the fish microbiome," said Sandra Loesgen, head of the research group responsible for research and development. the University of Oregon State.

The research, presented at the Spring National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Orlando, Florida, involved the clean-up team of 17 species of fish caught off the south coast of California.

A total of 47 different strains of bacteria found in fish mucus were cultured separately and the substance badtails they produced were collected and tested for antimicrobial quality.

The team reported that a number of strains produced chemical mixtures that were able to combat Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, with a smaller proportion able to fight E. coli. Some have also proved their effectiveness against problematic yeast Candida albicansand even cancer cells of the colon.

Although the team indicates that it is unclear whether the bacteria found are part of the typical surface flora of the fish species, they are now trying to determine which particular substances in the chemical mixtures are present. origin of antimicrobial effects.

"Up to here, we have badyzed in detail only one strain [found on a pink surfperch] and no new chemicals have been found, "Loesgen said. But, she added, there are many more strains to eliminate.

Dr. Mark Webber, antibiotic resistance specialist at Quadram Institute Bioscience, said that while the research was still in its infancy, it was important to look for antibiotics in unusual places.

"Most of our current antibiotics have been identified from living microbes in the soil and produce them to kill other competing bacteria. We are now facing a critical shortage of new antibiotics for use in people. Therefore, finding new drugs in other settings is interesting and timely, "he said. "The new drugs found here by bacteria living on fish are only active against some of our major pathogens, but it may be possible to change them or find future drugs that work against the most dangerous superbugs."

Laura Piddock, a professor of microbiology at the University of Birmingham, has also been cautiously optimistic.

"Finding antimicrobial substances in any natural environment is useful in the search for new antibiotics, especially if they are active against priority pathogens of the WHO," she said. declared. "However, switching from the test tube to a safe and effective medication in a patient is only the beginning of a long and expensive drug development process."