This ancient bacterium could help solve the antibiotic resistance crisis – or worsen it

Then, when they tested it against 28 antibiotics, the bacterium was resistant to 10 – including medicines we currently use to treat infections of the lungs, skin, blood, reproductive system and urinary tract.

“The 10 antibiotics we found resistance to are widely used in oral and injectable therapies that treat a range of serious bacterial infections in clinical practice,” said Purcarea.

The scientists wrote that their findings suggest strains capable of surviving cold environments might act as reservoirs of genes that could help them survive exposure to drugs.

“If melting ice releases these microbes, these genes could spread to modern bacteria, adding to the global challenge of antibiotic resistance,” Purcarea explained.

However, it’s not all bad news. Psychrobacter SC65A.3 also had nearly 600 genes with unknown functions and 11 genes that could kill or stop the growth of other microbes.

That means the strain could be helpful for the development of novel treatments and therapies, including against several major antibiotic-resistant microbes.