Скачать или смотреть What makes killer bacteria so scary? EMM Haynes Charitable Trust Scholar, Phoebe Allan

Key mutations in the genome of the killer bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa may be leading to antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistant P. aeruginosa strains have been found to frequently contain mutations in the same genes. These mutations can lead to 16 times the level of antibiotic resistance compared to non-mutant P. aeruginosa. This is thought to be due to the increase in production of bacterial machinery (enzymes) that break down the antibiotic.
In this study, P. aeruginosa will be genetically engineered to contain a light emitting protein. The greater the production of the enzymes that break down antibiotics, the greater the production of the light emitting protein. Using experiments that detect the level of light emission in these mutants, researchers can check to see if this is the way the mutants are evading death.
Understanding how these killer bacteria become resistant will help researchers develop better antibiotics and therefore help protect those at the greatest risk of dying from infections.