The new threat from the Antarctic meltdown. Scientists from the University of Chile found Resistance genes that could give bacteria ‘superpowers’ against antibiotics and other antimicrobials that can lead to an epidemic of infectious diseases. This becomes very relevant as the melting of the poles progresses due to global warming.
Between 2017 and 2019, researchers from the University of Chile collected samples from different points of the Antarctic Peninsula to complete the study, published in the journal Nature. Total Environmental Science.
In this sense, Andrés Marcoleta, an academic from the university’s Faculty of Science, explains that “superpowers” evolved to resist extreme conditions in the evolutionary process. they are present in mobile DNA fragments that will allow them to be easily transferred to other bacteria..
“We now know that Antarctic soils, one of the polar regions most affected by ice melting, live in a wide variety of bacteria, some of which provide a potential source of ancestral genes that confer resistance to antibiotics,” he said.
“The spread of infectious diseases”
“In one possible scenario, these genes can leave this reservoir and promote the emergence and proliferation of infectious diseases.Another fact to keep in mind is that these “resistance genes” won’t be broken by copper, chlorine, or quaternary ammonium, according to the study.
Moreover, Among these bacteria is Pseudomonas, which has a high resistance to extreme conditions and toxic substances. and cause serious diseases such as cystic fibrosis or Polaromonas, some of which have previously been detected in urbanized arctic environments such as the Siberian metro.
“This confirms that Contact between bacteria native to polar environments and pathogenic bacteria is already occurring.This could facilitate the exchange of genetic information between them,” warned Marcoleta.
Studies also reveal that Climate change may somehow have an impact on the emergence of infectious diseases.because melting reveals microorganisms or genetic information that has been frozen or buried for millions of years. The university said this promotes greater contact with people, animals and other organisms.
The discovery will therefore allow the scientific community to “predict the emergence of possible new mechanisms of resistance in infectious diseases and guide the design of new antibiotics,” concludes the study centre.
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